


You'll Never Walk Alone

by nanny_doesit



Series: The Family Verse [3]
Category: Glee
Genre: Adoption, Canon Divergence, Child Abandonment, Future Fic, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-05-01 18:46:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 64,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5216678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanny_doesit/pseuds/nanny_doesit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A whole lot can change in just one year...a new house, a new school, a new baby?? Just think of what can change in almost 10 years!?! One thing is for sure--Kurt, Blaine, and their children will never take this walk through life alone. They will always have each other, and the family they surround themselves with. </p><p> </p><p>  <i>Walk on, walk on...with hope in your heart...and you’ll never walk alone. You’ll never walk alone.-Carousel</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay...here we go again! Chapter 1 of The Family Verse: Part 3 is finally here. I am such a weird mix of excited and sad! Excited because soooo much is about to happen to this family and I can't wait for you all to read about it...but sad because this is it. The beginning of the end...I've had this story in my head for so long, thank you so much to everyone who stuck with it, reblogged the posts, and left comments. I literally could not have done any of this without each and every one of you. I'm so excited to finally share what's been rolling around in my brain!  
> I don't have a specific posting schedule planned. I'm gonna try for once a week, maybe twice a week if I can swing it. Big thanks to my beta, whitesheepcbd who is made of awesome and stuck around with me even when she was completely confused with parts of this chapter.

The summer after Liam turned two years old, and Sophie was just months away from turning seven, a lot of things changed all at once.

After only two years in their condo on the Upper West Side, they received notice that their building was going Co-op. After several lengthy conversations, both Kurt and Blaine agreed that if they were going to go through the process of obtaining a mortgage and owning...they wanted a house. They wanted something bigger.

They both agreed to consider all possibilities...but in the end, a traditional Manhattan-style townhouse on the East Side of 71st Street was the winner, and they entered escrow in July.

Their townhouse on East 71st Street was what their realtor called a classic Manhattan layout. The front door led into a grand foyer, and was called the "parlor floor."  With a formal sitting room beyond the foyer, it was the least used space in the house...unless Kurt and Blaine were entertaining.   

The first floor, or the garden level, was a flight of stairs below the foyer. The garden level housed their dining room, kitchen, and common family room, with the stone-walled off garden area. The kids loved the outdoor play space, their dads loved the security of the high stone wall. Going upstairs from the foyer would lead first onto the master floor. Kurt and Blaine's bedroom was there, along with their personal study, master bathroom, and a small personal terrace. The fourth floor held two guest bedrooms and accompanying baths, and the fifth floor was where Sophie and Liam's bedroom and bathrooms were. Each floor connected to a laundry chute, as well as an intercom system that was connected to the state-of-the-art security system Blaine insisted on.

Their first night in their new home, Kurt and Blaine toasted with glasses of champagne, both of them proud beyond words that the New York life they had dreamed about as teenagers was finally coming true.

"It took a lot of work," Kurt said as he clinked his glass against Blaine's. They were sitting side by side on the very last step of the staircase in their new foyer...which Kurt insisted on calling 'the grand foyer'.  

"And even more therapy sessions..." Blaine added with a wink. "But we did it."  

"Yeah we did." Kurt leaned in to brush his lips against his husband's. 

In the midst of trying to find a new place to live, finally finding and then renovating their new townhouse, their nanny, Grace, put in her two weeks notice. She'd been with them since Liam was a baby and everyone was sad to see her go, even more that she didn't seem to give a reason beyond needing to move on, which Kurt and Blaine understood, but the kids had a little bit of a harder time with. 

Kurt and Blaine both knew that with the move, they would need someone full time. The kids had school and activities, their house was much larger, and when Blaine was faced with the possibility of giving away Liam's crib when he moved on to his toddler bed...he just couldn’t part with it yet...and neither could Kurt, putting the lingering idea of just one more baby into both of their heads at the same time. 

They hired Emma two weeks after officially moving into their new home in September. Emma was a wonderfully experienced house manager/live-in nanny whom Liam instantly fell in love with and Sophie adored from a distance, already feeling that, at seven, she was too old for a nanny. They quickly converted the media room in the basement into a small apartment, and everyone settled into a new routine.

******

By Christmas, Kurt and Blaine started to seriously talk about having one more baby. The seeds having been planted months before, and neither of them could quite get the idea out of their heads. They were settled, they were happy, and they had more than enough love and space in their hearts and home for a fifth member of their family. 

And three had always been the number they kept coming back to. 

“You do realize though,” Kurt started one night after the kids were in bed and they were sharing a bottle of wine in front of their Christmas tree in the living room, “That this baby and Sophie will be the same distance apart that you and Cooper are, maybe even more.” 

Blaine looked over and shrugged. “It’ll still be different, with Liam in the middle and more than just the two of them,” he explained as Kurt poured a little more wine into his glass for him. “Cooper and I were so similar, yet so far apart in age. I’m okay with the age difference with the new baby and Soph.” 

The decision to add one more baby to their family was as natural as deciding on their other two kids. It was however, a lot more of a lengthy process. This time around, they both really wanted to adopt. 

For them, adoption had always been on the table. Ever since Blaine was a little kid, he'd known that his big brother was adopted, and it meant a great deal to him to carry on that tradition in his family with Kurt. 

For Kurt, while the decision was a little less personal...it was just as important. Before he'd met Blaine, when he thought about his life, kids were always a part of the equation. And until they met Mel, and decided to go ahead with surrogacy, adoption was one of the big ways he envisioned himself having children. Adoption was something that was very important to his husband, that in and of itself made it very important to Kurt. 

By the time Liam turned three in April; they had an adoption lawyer, had filled out all the paperwork, had put their names on a few lists, and even had a few meetings with prospective birth parents. Though nothing had worked out yet, both Kurt and Blaine were very hopeful...even daring to start putting a nursery together in one of the spare bedrooms. 

******

Liam’s third birthday was a quiet affair, just family and a few close friends over for pizza and cake, with two of his friends from school. 

Kurt spent the day baking a train-themed birthday cake with cupcake scenery, while Blaine and Sophie decorated their dining room with red and blue streamers, a big number 3 sign with a train on it, and big silver balloons spelling out his name. 

“Trains, huh?” Carole asked, walking into the kitchen where Kurt and Sophie were decorating the cake and cupcakes.

Kurt turned his head and smiled.

“He’s obsessed with them,” he answered, helping his daughter pump frosting onto the cupcakes that had just finished cooling. “Okay honey, wash your hands then go upstairs and have Dad help you with your hair. Your dress is laying across your chair.”

“Can I wear my new boots?” Sophie asked, stepping up on the stool and washing her hands at the sink. 

“Sure.” She skipped off, letting Carole pat her behind playfully as she passed.

“I think that’s everything,” Kurt mused, setting the piping bag down and wiping his hands on a towel. “Mel and Luke are bringing the pizza and I already cut all the vegetables for the pasta salad.

“I think I have enough for everyone,” he said, counting the party favors he and Blaine had put together the night before. “It's the six of us, plus Rachel, Sam, and Nick, Mel and Luke, then Emma is coming and bringing her boyfriend Ted.” Kurt ticked people off on his fingers and made sure everything was set out on the table in the dining room.

“And two little kids from his class, I’m not sure if any parents will stay...” he trailed off, using his hand to smooth down the t-shirt from Blaine’s latest play that he had thrown on earlier, knowing he would be baking and decorating most of the day. 

“No Lena?” Carole asked. 

“No Lena,” Kurt confirmed, walking back into the kitchen and grabbed a box of candles from the drawer. “She misread the dates and is in Finland for the week, and Andrew is still recovering from his gallbladder surgery. Cooper stayed with him after Blaine left last week.” 

Carole nodded as Burt walked into the kitchen with [Liam](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979381416553/) in his birthday outfit and thrown over his shoulder. 

“Papa!” Liam cried, turning his head and leaning over for Kurt to take him. 

“Hey there birthday boy,” Kurt cooed taking Liam in his arms and kissing his temple. “Did you have fun at the zoo today?” 

“We saw a monkey pooping!” Liam laughed, his eyes sparkling as he all but yelled the last word. 

Kurt rolled his eyes and chuckled at his son as he kissed his temple again and set him on the floor. “I’m sure that was thrilling, son.” 

Carole laughed as she carried the crudite into the dining room. 

“Papa, can I go play outside?” Liam asked as Kurt turned to the island to toss the pasta salad. 

Kurt looked out the back doors before looking down at his son. “It’s raining, bud.” 

Liam looked up at his Papa and shrugged. “So?” 

It took everything inside of him not to start laughing. He was able to school his features and shake his head. “No playing outside, birthday boy.” Liam visibly shrunk and hung his head. “Go play with your trucks, your friends from school will be here soon.” 

Liam crossed his arms but did as he was told and sulked into the family room. He pulled on the drawer of the coffee table that held his trucks and cars and took a few out. Carole and Kurt shared a smile and a look when she walked in from the dining room. 

“I think that’s everything,” Kurt sighed, giving the island and counters one final wipe down before carrying the platter that held the cake and decorated cupcakes to the buffet next to the table in the dining room.

“I’m gonna run upstairs and change my shirt,” he told Carole as Burt headed to the family room to play with Liam. 

Blaine was helping Sophie buckle her boots when Kurt walked into their bedroom. “Those look great, honey,” Kurt said, kissing the top of her head as he walked by. 

“Thank you!” Sophie preened with a grin. “Can I play hostess in the foyer?” she asked, jumping up from where she had been sitting at Kurt’s vanity. 

Blaine laughed, but nodded. “Sure, I’ll be down in a minute.” He watched Sophie skip toward the staircase before walking into the closet and slipping his arms around his husband's waist. “How you doin' today, papa bear?” he asked, kissing the back of Kurt’s neck.

Kurt chuckled before turning in his husband's arms and kissing him lightly on the mouth. “Falling apart at the seams, as usual,” Kurt joked with a slight lift of his shoulder and playful wink. He adjusted Blaine’s bowtie before smoothing his hands down the front of his button-up shirt. “I’m fine. Even with the past few weeks...getting emotional about our baby turning three has taken a back burner to the fact that he still seems to be obsessed with talking about poop.”

Blaine laughed and grabbed his favorite topsiders from the shoe rack before following Kurt out of the closet. “Every year on their birthdays, I always think about what we were doing at that point during the day they were born.” 

Kurt started laughing as he spritzed a little cologne on before wrapping a scarf around his neck. “Oh god, remember when Liam was born, and Dr. Robbins was out of town when Mel went into labor?” he asked, as Blaine shook his head and laughed along with him. 

“And she hated the on-call doctor! Was screaming at him to shut the hell up.” 

“Yeah she did,” Kurt laughed at the memory one more time before they heard the doorbell ring and Sophie call that she had it. “Come on Daddy, lets go celebrate our poop-loving son’s birthday.” 

******

Only one of the moms had decided to stick around for the party, the other little boy was dropped off by his nanny and she promised to be back to pick him up in a few hours. Kurt felt bad for her, she had probably been looking forward to a few hours alone for a while.

The three boys ran around the family room and up and down the stairs most of the afternoon, with Blaine, Sam, and Burt chasing after them. They played with Liam’s basket of trucks and action figures because they couldn't go outside and bugged Sophie just because they could. The pile of presents on the floor between the kitchen and the dining room grew bigger and bigger as more people walked through the door. Kurt had planned a few party games if the boys got bored, but they didn't seem to need them and were fine entertaining themselves. Sophie helped Kurt most of the evening, playing hostess and pretending she was an adult. Both her dads swore that she must have turned 16 at her last birthday, not 7. 

"Alright," Kurt called to Rachel once the food had been served and he'd washed his hands again. "Hand my godson over to me, it's been ages since I got to hold him!" 

Rachel smiled and stepped away from Mel and Carole who were admiring the barely four month old baby boy she was holding. "He's been tellin' me all morning he wants to see his Uncle Kurt."

Kurt laughed as she carefully laid Nick in his arms and he and Rachel sat down on the couch in the family room while the rest of the party went on in the dining room and kitchen. 

"Nickolas Connery," Kurt sang. The baby whined and snorted out a small cry before fluttering his eyes back to sleep and Kurt shook his head while still smiling. "I think you may be in the running for cutest baby ever with Sophie and Liam."

Rachel nodded as she adjusted his little hat and rubbed her hand down Kurt's arm. "They are related to us, of course they are the cutest." 

"Of course they are," Kurt scoffed, giving his friend a cheeky wink before they both started giggling at each other. Kurt looked down again and rocked Nick gently. 

"We sure are tryin' hard to get you a friend, little guy," Kurt sighed. 

"Sam told me that the adoption call you guys got a few weeks ago fell through," Rachel said sympathetically. She shook her head and sighed. "I'm so sorry I haven't been around. My life has mostly been bottles and diapers and catching any sleep I can, whenever I can. What happened?" 

Kurt shook his head again as he balanced Nick in his arm and used his other hand to squeeze Rachel's arm. "Believe me, we understand completely." 

Rachel nodded as Kurt took a deep breath and shrugged. "We got the call because an adoption fell through just a little bit before the baby was supposed to be born. We never got specifics but Linda, our lawyer, made it sound like it was a marital problem." Rachel nodded again as Kurt paused and shifted Nick in his arms a bit and patted his diaper covered bottom to soothe away his little whines. "Anyway, we met with the birth mom and she seemed to really like us, but then I guess she decided to keep the baby before we ever even got the call that she had picked us." 

"Aww Kurt," Rachel cooed as she pouted her lips a bit and reached over to hold her baby son's hand in hers. "I'm sorry." 

Kurt shrugged again as he gave Nick one more squeeze before handing him back over to his mommy. "Blaine and I talked about it and we agreed it wasn't meant to be, we were a little sad...but we're okay. Everyone told us it would probably be a long, hard road sometimes. We're okay with waiting for our baby." 

Rachel smiled as Kurt held out his hand to help her stand up and she kissed his cheek before they walked back to the party. 

After everyone had eaten their fill of pizza and pasta salad, Blaine and Sam took all four of the kids upstairs and made up a kind of kickball game with one of Liam’s soft foam balls in the hallway between the foyer and the living room. Burt and Luke followed them up as well but just to watch. 

Rachel and Mel were chatting as they cleared off the table while Nick snoozed in his carrier where his mom could keep an eye on him, and Julie and Kurt talked about the kids' school and how they felt about the boys’ teacher. 

Sam came down the stairs with Liam hanging upside down over his shoulder, the little boy giggling uncontrollably. “Did you order a birthday boy, sir?” 

Kurt shook his head and took advantage of Liam’s exposed belly to give him a little tickle before Sam let him down. “Come on, jellybelly,” Kurt said, leading Liam to the head of the table where Mel and Carole had set his cake and were ready to light his three candles. Burt took over the flip video camera, and Sam took the digital camera that Blaine handed him, promising to take a bunch of pictures. 

Mel lit his candles and Kurt and Blaine kneeled down on either side of him, while everyone started singing. Liam blushed like crazy, but smiled the whole time. 

“Make a wish, baby,” Blaine whispered as everyone finished singing. 

Liam screwed up his little face, then took all three of his tries to get the three candles blown out. The room erupted in cheers. Kurt kissed the side of his head as the three of them looked at Sam and smiled for a picture. Blaine pulled Sophie over as well and had Sam take a few pictures of the four of them before he leaned down and kissed the top of Liam’s head as well and Kurt started to cut the cake. 

“Bud, do you want a piece of cake now, or do you wanna open your presents first?” Kurt asked Liam. 

“PRESENTS!” Liam howled, jumping down from his chair. 

“Honey, I’ll finish cutting and serving the cake,” Carole offered, walking over and taking the cake server from him. “You go over and be with Liam.” 

Liam was absolutely showered with new toys, clothes, books, and stickers. The biggest hit, was the weatherproof outdoor mechanical train set that Blaine and Kurt got for him. It was the last thing he opened because it was the biggest. 

“Can we go put it together, now!?” Liam asked, jumping up and down. 

“Not right now, jellybelly,” Blaine explained. “It’s too dark and still a little rainy. As long as it’s nice tomorrow, we’ll put it together after breakfast, okay?” 

Liam pouted, but accepted the terms. 

“Why don't you go give everyone a hug and tell them thank you one more time, then you can go play,” Kurt pushed Liam gently in the direction of his grandparents and moaned as he lifted himself from the floor. “I may need to go to a yoga class this week, I’m getting too old to sit on the floor like that.” 

Blaine laughed and told him he didn't look a day over twenty as Liam walked around giving everyone hugs and flashing his thousand-watt smile. 

“Hey, Kurt,” Luke said as he walked up to him. “Mel and I have been thinking about investing in a townhouse, did you guys have to do a bunch of renovation when you moved in here?” he asked as Kurt grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a drink. 

“Umm, mainly just cosmetically. We did renovate the media room into a tiny nanny apartment, though,” he answered as Blaine walked over to them and nodded. 

“And we changed the master floor a little, too,” Blaine added. 

“You did?” Mel asked from where she was sitting at the table, Sophie sitting in her lap as they shared a cupcake. “I don’t remember that.” 

Kurt nodded. “Yeah, when we bought the house, the master bath was huge. It was basically the same size as Sophie and Liam’s bedrooms with their closets and bathrooms. It was sooo nice, but it had all this underutilized space in it. We decided that instead of sacrificing one of the bedrooms, we would knock out our bathroom, remodel to make a slightly smaller sized bathroom and turn all that space into our shared office/studio.”

“Oh wow, was it a huge undertaking?” Luke asked, but Blaine shook his head. 

“About as much as you would expect. All the construction happened before we moved in.” 

“We had to sacrifice a little bit of closet space, but we gained a separate part of the house to work in.”

“With a door, that closes,” Blaine added. “You wanna come up and see? I can show you around if you’d like.” 

Luke nodded and followed Blaine up the stairs just as the doorbell rang and Grey’s nanny came in to take him home. 

Julie decided it was probably time to get Cobalt home as well, so Liam said goodbye to both of his friends as Kurt handed each of them a goodie bag with some little tinker toys and train themed party favors. After Grey and Cobalt left, Liam wandered into the family room and laid across his Grampy’s lap while Burt and Sam watched the end of one the NCAA games, baby Nick sleeping peacefully in his dad's arms. Blaine and Luke joined them soon after while Kurt and Sophie entertained the rest of their guests at the table the rest of the evening. 

******

It was after eight by the time the game was over. Kurt carried a very worn out Liam upstairs to bed, Sophie following close behind. Sam and Rachel had left a while before with Nick, saying they needed to get him down. Rachel looked like she was about to pass out from exhaustion as well. Mel and Luke followed them soon after. 

“I think I’m gonna hit the hay,” Burt announced, standing up and stretching after the last buzzer had blown on the game they were watching. “I wanna spend some time with the kids before our flight home tomorrow, and I’m wiped.”

Blaine stood up to say goodnight to both he and Carole. He sat back down on the couch and flipped channels for a few minutes, finally finding a rerun of some show he and Kurt had already watched. He hadn't even realized he’d fallen asleep, until he was shocked awake by Kurt gently slipping his leg over and straddling him. 

“Mmm, hey you,” he mumbled, reaching up and rubbing his hands up and down Kurt’s thighs where they were bracketing his own.

“You fell asleep,” Kurt murmured, leaning his head down to pepper kisses across Blaine’s jaw and down the column of his neck. 

“Mmmhmm, I did,” Blaine all but groaned as his grip on Kurt’s thighs and waist got tighter. “Kids asleep?” 

“Well, Liam is. I told Sophie she could read in bed after her shower,” he answered, nibbling gently on Blaine’s ear lobe before sitting back just a touch. “Ready to head up?” 

Blaine finally opened his eyes and smiled at his husband. “I’m ready if you are.” 

Kurt laughed at that. “You were the one falling asleep on the couch, silly.” 

Blaine chuckled and shrugged. “It’s hard to argue with that logic.” 

Kurt continued to laugh as he climbed off and stood up, holding his hand out for Blaine to take. “Come on, let's go to bed. We can be quiet.” 

“Correction, I can be quiet. You seem to have great difficulties in that particular area.”

Kurt looked affronted as they checked the locks on all the doors and turned off the lights. 

“Excuse me? I’m not the one who woke up Liam from TWO flights away! He thought you were crying!” 

Blaine chuckled into his arm as he grabbed two bottles of water and followed Kurt upstairs to check the front door and set the alarm. Emma had told them she was staying at Ted's, but she knew the code even if she decided to come home. “That was a good night,” he groaned, sidling up to Kurt and kissing his neck. “At least until that part.” 

He laughed and slapped Kurt’s butt playfully, handing him the two bottles of water. “I’m gonna go tuck Sophie in, don’t fall asleep before I get there!” 

“I make no promises, good sir,” Kurt called, but was laughing even as he said it. Even with all the unsure, his life was pretty great. 

Just in case you were confused about the layout of their townhouse here is the sample I used while writing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole lot can change in just one year…a new house, a new school, a new baby?? Just think of what can change in almost 10 years!?! One thing is for sure–Kurt, Blaine, and their children will never take this walk through life alone. They will always have each other, and the family they surround themselves with.
> 
>  
> 
> _Walk on, walk on…with hope in your heart…and you’ll never walk alone. You’ll never walk alone.-Carousel_

The morning after Liam's third birthday party, Burt and Carole woke up and made pancakes for the kids, letting their dads sleep in a little. Liam had very little time for breakfast. He wanted to go outside and set up his train set. As soon as Blaine and Kurt came downstairs to the kitchen, Blaine relented and he and Kurt carried the box outside, with Liam following excitedly. 

It didn't take long, the pieces fit together pretty easily and Liam screamed with joy as he used the remote to inch the steaming train around and around the track. Kurt and Blaine stood and watched, sipping coffee and giggling right along with him. 

They had to pry him away when it was time to take Burt and Carole to the airport.

It started raining on the drive back into the city, so Kurt asked Liam what he wanted to do. 

“DINOS!!!” Liam yelled from his car seat, while Sophie rolled her eyes next to him.

“Liiiiiiaaaaam,” she whined. “We were just at the Natural History Museum two weeks ago!”

“Chin up, Soph,” Kurt called, turning back to face her. “Maybe the Egyptian exhibit will finally be open. We read about that a few weeks ago, remember?” 

“And it’s still his birthday weekend, monster,” Blaine gently reminded her, his eyes focused on the road. 

Sophie rolled her eyes again, but Kurt could tell she was excited underneath her moody front. Blaine found a parking spot relatively close to Spring Natural Kitchen, one of their favorite restaurants to take the kids. An unspoken conversation between Kurt and Blaine agreed that two full bellies would make for much happier children, and it was already pushing 1 p.m. 

“Papa, can I have your awacado?” Liam asked politely, batting his eyelashes once their food was served and Liam got a good look at his Papa's salad. “Please?” 

Kurt sighed and tipped the avocado off his plate and onto his son's. He would likely never eat avocado again as long as Liam was around. 

“Fanks!” Liam sang happily, his mouth already full with his first bite.

“You’re welcome, honey.” Kurt told him. 

******

Sophie sighed as she flopped her backpack on the table and sat down. Blaine set the kettle on the stove top and turned the range on, he pulled three mugs from the cabinet and set them on the island. 

It had stopped raining by time the four of them left the museum later that afternoon. Leftover pizza was on the menu for a quick dinner. Liam was cranky and whiney as he picked at his food, finally prompting Kurt to scoop him up and head upstairs for his bath and bedtime routine. 

“What kind of tea do you want, sweetie?” Blaine asked, walking over to the table where his daughter was sitting. 

Sophie looked up and handed him her red folder. “Will you read my book report?” she asked and her dad nodded. “Umm, that apple spice one Papa and I bought last weekend would be good,” she answered and pulled out her math worksheet. 

Blaine read over her essay as he walked back into the kitchen and grabbed the tea bags from the pantry. 

He chanced a quick look at her as she checked her math work and had to smile. These were some of his favorite moments with his kids, the quiet, contemplative, absorbed in their own task kind of moments...and she seemed to be growing up so fast, he almost couldn’t believe some of the things that came out of her mouth on a regular basis. 

When he and Kurt had sat the kids down earlier in the year, and told them both of the new journey adopting a baby was going to be...Liam had taken the news with a nod and asked if he could go play. Sophie had a thousand questions ranging from when? To why? And how will this change everything? They had been as patient as possible with her, telling her that while this will change things...their love for her will never change. 

She may act like she was born 17 years old, but she was still a 7 year old and needed to be reminded of that sometimes. 

He sat with her while she read aloud from her book, checked over her math worksheet, and sipped her tea just like she had watched Kurt do all her life. 

“Where’s Papa?” she asked about ten minutes later. Blaine announced her homework done and praised her for getting it done before the weekend was over. She started putting her folder and book back in her bag. “He went upstairs with Liam forever ago.” 

Blaine looked over at the clock and shrugged. “It must be taking him a bit to get Liam to sleep,” he guessed. 

Sophie nodded and looked around, spying her computer in the family room. 

“Since I finished all my homework, can I have some computer time before bed?” she asked, standing up to put her empty mug in the sink. 

The phone rang just as Blaine was nodding yes. He grabbed the cordless phone from the jack in the kitchen as Sophie picked up her computer and walked upstairs, leaving her backpack on the back of one of the dining room chairs. 

******

Liam was fighting sleep with everything in him. “Just one more story, Papa?” he whined as soon as Kurt put down Harold and the Purple Crayon.

“Sorry jellybelly, four books is Papa’s limit. How about a song?” he asked.

“Nooooo,” Liam yawned.

“Yeeees,” Kurt laughed as Liam rolled over to his belly and shook his leg, trying to keep himself awake as Kurt started You Are My Sunshine. 

He started the song over again when he finished and Liam still wasn't asleep but started rubbing his little back as well. After a few more bars of the song, Liam’s leg started to slow down, finally stopping. 

Kurt segued into Blackbird and Liam was snoring softly by the time he finished. He turned his revolving lamp to its lowest setting and kissed the back of his head.

“Good night, my sweet baby boy. I love you.” 

******

Blaine pushed the end button on the phone in his hand and very carefully set it back in the cradle that hung by the fridge. 

Emma...he needed to talk to Emma and see if she could stay with the kids...but Kurt. He needed to make sure Kurt is on board with all of this, he can't talk to Emma before he talks to Kurt. And oh god, what if Kurt isn't on board? As much as they both had insisted they were okay, getting so close to a baby a few weeks ago only to have it fall through was really hard on both of them. Maybe Kurt wouldn't want to take another chance so soon? His mind was whirring faster and faster in his head and he couldn't make a coherent thought come through. 

_“I need a decision soon, Blaine. Like in the next thirty minutes, soon. I'll need to contact someone else if not you guys."_

Linda’s words rang in his head as he turned on the spot, trying to decide whether to go upstairs where Kurt was, or downstairs where Emma was. 

They hadn't seen Emma all day, she might not even be home. She might have plans even if she is. _Oh god, what if she has plans?_ he thought. 

She usually had Saturday night and Sundays off, so unless they ask her ahead of time, she uses the day to spend time with her boyfriend, or her friends. 

All at once, his brain made the decision. “Talk to Kurt, text Emma,” he said quietly to himself. 

But just as he set his foot on the step to go upstairs, Emma rounded the corner to follow him up as well. 

“Hey,” she greeted him brightly. “My dinner plans fell through, so I ordered in. I was gonna wait for it in the foyer so he didn't ring the bell and wake the kids,” she explained as they both rounded the corner and walked into the foyer. 

“Is that...okay?” she asked, looking at the confusion on Blaine’s face. 

“Yeah,” he rushed to assure her. “Of course it is. Are you in for the night?” 

“Yep,” she shrugged. “I have some TV to catch up on, and I could use a quiet night in.” 

“Would you mind terribly sleeping in the guest room to listen for the kids?” he asked, one foot on the stairs. “Something just came up, Kurt and I may have to go...do something.” 

“Is everything okay?” she asked, waving as the delivery car pulled up but turning her attention back to Blaine with a concerned look. 

“Yeah...yeah, everything’s fine. Yes, everything is fine.” 

Emma looked at him like she didn't believe him, but nodded as the delivery girl walked up the steps. “Sure, I can sleep upstairs, no problem,” she agreed, signing for her crunchy noodles and steamed vegetables.

She turned to ask if he or Kurt wanted any, but he was already upstairs. 

******

“Hey Soph, it’s past eight. Put the computer away and start getting ready for bed,” Kurt announced, walking across the hall and into her room. 

Sophie groaned, but did as she was told and shut her computer. 

“Don’t forget to brush your teeth after you get out of the shower,” Kurt reminded her, kissing the top of her head as she walked to her bathroom. “I’ll be back in a few minutes to tuck you in.” 

Kurt headed downstairs and walked into the shared study beyond his and Blaine’s master bathroom. He picked up his iPad from where it was lying on his desk and pulled up his schedule for the next day. 

The buzz and fuzz from Spring Fashion Week had finally died down, and he fiddled with a few things to see if he could take the next morning off. He hadn't gotten any of the grocery shopping done with Liam’s birthday party and family in town, and he knew Emma would need some help getting the beds stripped and all the floors done, especially with the added mess from house guests over the weekend. The living room could use a dusting as well. It was probably time for Sophie to be doing some chores beyond just picking up after herself and keeping her room straight as well. 

He felt more than heard Blaine come in the room. 

“We need to be stricter about Liam’s naps on Sundays,” Kurt started without looking up from his iPad. He could probably work this out if he could Skype in the staff meeting and then push his 11am to a late lunch meeting. “I know today was special, but it took almost an hour for me to get him to calm down enough to sleep, and even then he was on the verge of tears from frustration.”

“Kurt,” Blaine began, but Kurt kept going. 

“Also, I think I’m gonna take tomorrow morning off,” he continued, putting his iPad down and flipping through his bag. “We need groceries for the week and I think Emma could use some help getting the house back in order from the weekend.”

“Honey...” 

“If you need anything specific, write it down for me and I’ll pick it up--”

“Kurt!” Blaine finally interrupted, raising his voice just a touch. 

Kurt turned around, finally looked his husband in the face. “What? What's wrong?” 

Blaine took a deep breath and walked over to his husband, taking his hands into his own. “Linda just called.”

“At 8:15 on a Sunday night? Is everything okay?” Kurt asked, realization setting in on him as he started to breathe a little heavier. 

“Apparently there was a baby dropped off at a fire station earlier this evening.”

“Dropped off?” Kurt asked, sucking in a breath. “What do you mean ‘dropped off’, like abandoned?” 

“Well, according to Linda, its called a ‘Safe Drop’.” Blaine explained, “It’s where a newborn can be safely dropped off, without anyone having to explain why.” 

“A newborn?” Kurt asked, his voice rising in disbelief. “Someone abandoned a newborn at a fire station? Is it okay?”

“Linda said she looked like she was okay, underfed and small, but okay otherwise,” Blaine explained as they walked hand in hand to their shared workspace and perched on the edge of the table. 

“She?” Kurt asked, a wobble in his voice that made Blaine’s heart melt. “It’s a baby girl?” 

Blaine grinned. “Yeah, a baby girl. Linda said she looks a little over a week old.”

“Oh my god,” Kurt whispered, his hand covering his mouth as he shook his head. “Who would do that? Who would just abandon a tiny baby like that?” 

“Someone who didn't have any other option,” Blaine responded simply. “Someone scared.” 

Kurt looked at his husband in disbelief. Blaine always had more faith in the human race than Kurt ever did. 

“Honey, Linda called us,” Blaine reminded him, effectively pulling Kurt out of his trance. “Remember when we first sat down with Linda and she asked us if we were interested in the ‘sky baby’ or ‘born baby’ possibilities? That sometimes a baby suddenly becomes available and they need to place it immediately? That it was rare and not likely, but possible?” 

“Oh god, we had those meetings with birth parents...I forgot about that even being on the table,” Kurt mused, his eyes wide. All the sudden he stood up. “Wait, are they putting her with us?”

Blaine nodded his head. “If that’s what we want, yes. Linda told us to meet her at the hospital as soon as possible if we decided that we wanted to take her.” 

“Well, let's go,” Kurt cried, hurrying out of the studio to grab his shoes from where he had taken them off in their closet. “We need to see if Emma can stay with the kids. Oh god, is Emma even home? I haven't seen her all night. I bet Rachel and/or Sam would come over if we absolutely needed them to. Mel left for LA this morning and I don't think she comes back until Friday. Oh shit, do we even have any newborn girl clothes? I think we got rid of most of Sophie’s and what little we bought were all for older babies. I could probably find something of Liam's that would work, but it hasn't been washed yet, and...” Kurt was talking a mile a minute as he hurried through their bedroom and bathroom.

“Kurt, honey, stop,” Blaine pleaded, finally catching Kurt in his arms. “So this is something we want to do? This is what you want to do?” he asked, looking Kurt in the eyes. 

“Yes, of course,” Kurt declared, then took a breath and searched Blaine’s eyes. “Why, is it not something you want?” He paused and covered his mouth with his hand, his own eyes growing wide with fear and apprehension. “Oh god, do you not want to take her?” 

“No, of course I do,” Blaine rushed to assure him. “I just wanted to make sure that you were fully on board, before I let myself get my hopes up,” he finished with a relieved sigh. 

“Blaine, she needs us. She needs someone to take care of her, and we can do that. Of course I want to do that.” 

Blaine nodded and leaned in to brush his lips against Kurt's. “Okay,” he said pulling back with a smile. “I’ll call Linda and tell her we’re on our way. I told her I would call her after we talked it over and decided.”

“Okay, good,” Kurt said grabbing a cardigan from the closet.

“Emma’s home, I ran into her on my way up here. She said she would sleep upstairs in the guest room and listen out for the kids,” Blaine told him, slipping into his old top-siders and taking the cardigan Kurt was holding out for him. “And I think we can worry about clothes tomorrow. We are gonna have to buy a few other things anyway. We didn't exactly prepare for a newborn.” 

"We didn't exactly prepare for anything," Kurt fretted. "A barely put together crib in a half painted nursery is definitely not prepared."

Blaine nodded but stopped when Kurt pulled on his hand. 

“Shit, I have to go tuck Soph in, she’ll be waiting for me,” he said, backtracking and heading up the stairs. “Will you grab my phone and wallet from the table, I’ll meet you downstairs in a minute.” 

“Yep, give Sophie a kiss for me. And don’t rush, I still have to call Linda to tell her we’re on our way.” 

*****

Ten minutes later, Blaine wasn't in the foyer waiting for him, so he went down one more flight and found his husband and Emma standing in the kitchen. 

“Thank you, so much Emma,” Kurt declared, catching his breath as he walked over to where they were both standing next to the island, Blaine still on the phone. “You are a life saver, truly.”

“Oh my goodness, no problem at all. This is so exciting!” she giggled, clapping her hands. 

Kurt laughed along with her, nervous laughter bubbling inside of him as Blaine hung up the phone and told him Linda would be waiting in the hospital lobby for them before turning to Emma. 

“We honestly have no idea how long we are gonna be gone, or even what’s going to happen once we get there.”

“No, I totally understand. Take all the time you need. I have no problem sleeping upstairs.” 

“Oh man, I haven't stripped the bed since my parents were in town this weekend. You know where all the extra linens are, and just throw the dirty sheets down the laundry chute,” Kurt rambled as she walked them to the garden door. 

“Sure, just text me when you can and let me know what’s going on.”

“We will, for sure!” Blaine promised, opening the door for Kurt to walk through. “Oh, and Liam’s monitor is by our bed.”

The Uber Blaine had ordered from the app on his phone was waiting out front for them. They climbed in and Kurt confirmed their destination before taking Blaine’s hand and holding it tight in his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here](http://notthatbea.tumblr.com/post/133730244703/fic-the-family-verse-pt-3-youll-never-walk) is the post on tumblr, reblog if you enjoyed!! Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole lot can change in just one year…a new house, a new school, a new baby?? Just think of what can change in almost 10 years!?! One thing is for sure–Kurt, Blaine, and their children will never take this walk through life alone. They will always have each other, and the family they surround themselves with.
> 
>  
> 
> _Walk on, walk on…with hope in your heart…and you’ll never walk alone. You’ll never walk alone.-Carousel_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to update today for a Black Friday surprise! Major thanks and love to my beta, whitesheepcbd.

Blaine kept Kurt’s hand in his the entire ride to Lincoln Medical Center. Kurt pulled a few bills from his wallet and paid the driver as they climbed out of the car and stood on the sidewalk. 

“Ready?” Blaine asked, taking Kurt’s hand again. 

Kurt took a deep breath and nodded. “As I’ll ever be, I suppose.” 

Linda, as promised, was waiting for them inside the hospital lobby. She was sitting with a pretty, but tired-looking young woman. Both stood up when Linda spotted them walking in and motioned them over. “Hey guys,” she said with a warm smile. “This is Stacy. She works for DCFS, she’s been assigned to the baby girl’s case. She called me when all this went down, we were college roommates.” 

Kurt and Blaine both smiled and Kurt held out his hand. 

“I’m Kurt,” he introduced himself before motioning to Blaine. “And this is my husband, Blaine.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Blaine beamed, shaking Stacy’s hand as well. 

“It’s great to meet you guys, too.” Stacy smiled as they sat down on the waiting room couches, a small table separating the two pairs. “After Linda called me I pulled your file, very impressed.” 

“So, how does this work?” Blaine asked after they had thanked her. 

Stacy sighed and pulled out an accordion folder that looked to be stuffed to the brim with paperwork. 

“Unfortunately, or fortunately however you want to look at it, we don't get many Safe Haven babies.” She began pulling two stacks of paperwork out of the folder and flipping through them, still making occasional eye contact with the couple. “It’s a completely different process than when the state takes control of a child or a child is given up for adoption.”

“How so?” Kurt asked. 

“Well, for one thing...” Stacy trailed off, looking like she needed to compose herself for a moment. “We don’t know anything about this baby girl. We don't know her name, we don't know her birthday, if she was registered with the Social Security program. We have no medical records. We have nothing. She is quite literally, a baby Jane Doe.”

Both Kurt and Blaine nodded their horrified understanding, but didn't say anything so Stacy could continue. 

“We know she has to be at least ten days old, because her belly button has fallen off and has healed. And seven days with two days of healing is pretty much the minimum amount of time for that to occur,” Stacy explained, crossing her legs and setting her chin in her hand. “But beyond that, we have no idea how old she actually is, and she's so small.” 

Kurt bit his lip and willed himself not to cry. Blaine could feel his husband next to him start to get emotional, and held his hand palm out to let Kurt know it was okay to take it. Kurt reached over and squeezed Blaine’s fingers tightly and took another deep breath as Linda cut in for a moment. 

“The firefighter who took possession of her said the woman who dropped her off claimed not to be her mother, said she didn't know anything about the child. That someone had offered her money to bring the baby over to him.” 

“Is she okay?” Kurt asked, his voice wobbling just a bit. “Like health wise, is she okay?” 

Stacy nodded and gave him a small smile. “She seems to be. She’s clearly underfed and very small. She isn't too crazy about the bottle. The nurses think she may have been breastfed by her mother, and not used to the bottle. She’ll learn soon enough though.” 

“And loud,” Linda laughed. “She has got a set of lungs on her like no one that tiny should have.”

Kurt looked over at Blaine and mustered up a tiny smile. A baby that was crying, that was screaming to get what she needs, is a baby that hasn't given up yet. His mind flashed to horror stories of babies in orphanages that learn not to cry, because no one cared enough to find out why they were upset. This baby girl would fight, and they would be there to help her in any way they could. 

“Oh we know all about that.” Blaine chuckled. “You should've heard Sophie when she was a baby. We had to buy earplugs because, even with them in, we could still hear her perfectly.” 

Stacy laughed and shook her head in camaraderie. “My son was like that, too.” She paused, then sat up a little straighter and set out two stacks of paperwork on the table that was sitting between them. “The law dictates that a biological parent has 72 hours after the time of the drop to change their mind and reclaim the child. After that period, they relinquish all rights to the child and he, or she, becomes a ward of the state of New York.” 

Kurt nodded, his stomach like a bucket of lead as he thought of falling in love with this baby, only to have someone come back to get her. He pushed the thought from his mind as Stacy continued talking. This little girl needed them, they would be there for no matter how short that time may be.

“Normally, in this type of situation, I would take her to a 24 hour emergency care group facility to await placement. Luckily, in this case, it looks like we can skip that step. Linda told me you guys were already approved for placement during the adoption process, so that will make all of this much easier. I checked your file and you passed all your background checks and visits.” She paused to look up and smile. “Right now, I just need you to verbally agree to emergency placement of the child.” 

Linda broke in to assure them. “It’s just the emergency side of things, once the three days pass, we’ll get you approved for temporary placement. Then if you guys decide to go ahead, we’ll start the adoption process” 

Stacy looked over at Linda and nodded. “Right,” she agreed. “It’s a process, but not one you should worry too much about. You are an established couple, with two thriving children. The state wants to see these kids in loving stable homes. With both of our recommendations? The process will be long, but with a light at the end of the tunnel.” 

Kurt cleared his throat. “So you’re saying what we need to worry about, is her mother or father coming for her?” he asked, squeezing Blaine’s hand even tighter. 

Stacy sighed, but nodded. “She and the baby’s father do have that window of time...but I can tell you from my experience, that isn't something that happens often. These people have no one else to turn to, or anyone that they want to turn to. It’s not a decision they take lightly.” 

“But it does happen?” Blaine asked. 

“I’m not going to lie to you, it's rare...but yes, it has happened before.” 

Kurt shook his head again, desperately trying to rid his mind of the doubts. He and Blaine made eye contact. Blaine nodded and squeezed Kurt’s hand. “When can we see her?” Kurt asked. 

Stacy sighed out a chuckle and Linda smiled at them. 

“Just as soon as we get some of this paperwork signed,” Stacy said, handing each of the men a small stack of paper and a pen. “The hospital wants to keep her overnight, just for observation. All of her tests came back clean and other than being malnourished, she seems to be a healthy baby. And I’m sure they’ll let you stay as well. She'll be discharged into your care in the morning.” 

They spent what felt like an eternity, signing and initialing on every line, and then switching stacks of paper to sign the other half. They agreed to take the best care of the baby as possible, and signed off on scheduled and surprise home visits, as well as both of them saying, out loud, that they were willing and able to take care of the child. Finally Stacy took the papers from them and put everything back in her folder. 

“Alright, let’s go upstairs and meet her,” Linda announced, grinning widely. Stacy followed closely behind them as they all four piled into the elevator. 

“So,” Blaine began as the elevator started to ascend. “If she doesn't have a name, what should we...I mean, what do we call her?” 

“Well, eventually she’ll need a name. But if you’re uncomfortable giving her one right now, the nurses have been calling her baby bean,” Stacy laughed. 

“Bean?” Kurt laughed. “Why bean?” 

Linda smiled as the elevator doors opened and they walked onto the maternity floor where the nursery was. “You’ll see why when you meet her. When they unwrap her, she pulls her legs and arms close to her body and she looks like a little bean,” she explained, using her hands to gesture what she meant. 

Kurt nodded with a smile and Blaine chuckled beside him. 

“Oh goodness,” a nurse in pale pink scrubs announced when she saw the four of them walk in, but smiled warmly when she made eye contact with Stacy. “Hello everybody.” 

“This is Kurt and Blaine, they are going to be taking baby Jane Doe,” Stacy explained. 

“Ohhh, don't call her that,” the nurse insisted, motioning for them to follow her over to the right crib. “Sounds like somethin’ straight out of a bad episode of Law and Order.” 

Kurt laughed and nodded his agreement. If he never heard baby Jane Doe again, it would be too soon. It was at the top of every single paper he and Blaine had to sign.

“My name’s Chloe,” the nurse introduced herself and put out her hand for both Kurt and Blaine to shake. “That over there is Matt.” The nurse across the room waved and smiled. 

“If I could just get you guys to wash your hands real good in that sink, you’ll be all set.” 

Both men nodded their understanding and took turns at the sink. Linda and Stacy hung back just a little so Kurt and Blaine could meet the baby girl.

“Here she is,” Chloe announced as they rounded on a crib, a very tiny baby inside, bundled in a hospital issued blanket with a pink hat covering her head. She was awake and wide eyed, her arms and legs jerking around inside the loosely wrapped blankets. 

“Oh my gosh, she is so small,” Blaine whispered, leaning down to pick her up, before catching himself and looking up at Chloe to make sure that was okay. 

“Yeah, of course. Get on in there. I’m sure she could use all the snuggles you can give her right now.” 

“Hey there, little one,” Blaine cooed as he reached in and pulled her up, cradling her body against his chest. 

Kurt smiled as he looked over Blaine's shoulder and cupped the back of her head with his hand. “We’ve heard you had a rough day, sweetheart,” he whispered as Blaine started to rock back and forth, grinning widely at the tiny human in his arms. 

The baby girl yawned and croaked out a few coo’s and whine’s, blinking her big blue eyes up at yet another new batch of people. Kurt’s heart broke all over again as her face screwed up in a whine, but Blaine just shushed and swayed her back and forth for another few minutes before she lost the battle and her eyelids started to droop. 

“That’s it,” Blaine sang softly. “Just go right to sleep, nothin’ to see here except a couple of boring ol’ dads.” 

Kurt kissed the back of Blaine’s shoulder as he watched the little girl blink her eyes stubbornly a few times before finally being successfully lulled to sleep by Blaine’s gentle swaying. 

“Well you two seem like seasoned pro’s,” Chloe commented with a grin. “Even got the whole 'baby sway' down and everything.” 

Kurt looked over at her and nodded with a smile. He already liked this woman. She reminded him of his stepmom in all the best ways. “We are actually, we have two at home. Our daughter is seven and our son just turned three on Saturday,” he explained proudly. 

“Well I’d say you were pro’s for sure then.” Chloe laughed. “Blaine, there is a rocking chair behind you if you need to sit down, she’ll probably be out for another hour or so before she needs to eat again." 

Blaine nodded as he lowered himself down into the chair, careful not to disturb the sleeping baby still in his arms. 

“If you guys don’t need anything else, we are gonna head out,” Linda broke in as she and Stacy walked over to them.

“Oh, I mean,” Kurt started and Blaine looked over at him, the frown line between his eyes a clear indication he was thinking the same thing Kurt was. “Is it okay if...can we stay?” Kurt asked. 

“Of course you can,” Chloe told them, nodding her head. “In fact, Matt and I were just sayin' that we could get you three set up in a room for some privacy. Would that be better?”

“That would be great, thank you so much,” Kurt replied, gratefully. 

“I’ll be in touch with you guys as soon as I hear from Stacy,” Linda called, waving to Blaine and giving Kurt a quick hug. 

“Do you need anything before they release her tomorrow?” Stacy asked. “Do you have a car seat or a carrier?”

Kurt thought for a moment. He would definitely want to get her a newer, better model, but they had Liam’s car seat in storage downstairs that would work in a pinch until he could get to a store. 

“I think we’re all set,” he finally decided, nodding. “We definitely need to make a major shopping trip to get completely stocked up, but I think we have everything to get her home in the morning.” 

“Okay, good,” Stacy gave each of them a warm smile before shaking Kurt’s hand again. “I have all your information, and I already filled out her discharge papers saying you are to take custody of her when she was released. I’ll call you as soon as I know something.”

Kurt nodded and took a deep breath. “72 hours, right?” he asked. 

“From 5:30 p.m., yes. But I’ll try to call you before that to give you some kind of an update.” 

“Okay,” Kurt nodded, shrinking back behind Blaine just a touch. “Thank you so much.”

“Thank you, this is one little one I don’t have to worry about tonight,” Stacy assured them. She waved to Blaine and the baby before following Linda out the door. 

Kurt pulled up another rocking chair and sat down beside his husband. Blaine looked down and grinned. “I think she may be out enough for a transfer if you wanna hold her?” 

Kurt shook his head. “Nah, let her sleep. I’ll hold her when she wakes up to eat.” 

After a few minutes of quietly rocking, Chloe walked back over. “How we doin' over here?” she asked, looking down at the sleeping baby and grinning. "Oh good, you found another chair Kurt. I was just comin’ over here to make sure you had one.”

“We’re great,” Kurt answered, looking up.

“Okay, we just got word that another little baby will be joining us in the next few minutes." Chloe told them. "So let us get her settled, then I’ll get you guys into the computer, get your wristbands made up, and we’ll move you to a room where you have a little more privacy, okay?” 

“That sounds great, thank you Chloe,” Blaine said, graciously. 

“No hurry, really. We’re fine just to sit with her for now,” Kurt assured her. 

It took another 45 minutes before Chloe was able to come back and tell them everything was ready for them to move. She handed each of them a wristband with correlating ID numbers, before leading them down a small hallway and into a room with a double bed and two chairs.

“Okay,” she smiled, pushing the portable crib into the room in front of them. “Home sweet home.” 

Kurt laughed as he and Blaine walked in behind her, Blaine still holding the baby girl in his arms. 

“So you guys have plenty of diapers and wipes. She has a few pacifiers in here, and I even threw in a few blankets and t-shirts as well,” Chloe explained. “I’ll be back for her feedings with formula, and I think that’s it. If you have any questions, the call button goes directly to us.” 

“Do you want us to keep track of her diapers?” Kurt asked. 

“Yes, there is a clipboard on her cradle here,” Chloe answered. “The coffee stand on the third floor is open until two, and the cafeteria closes at midnight if you guys need anything, otherwise there are vending machines down the hall and to your right,” she said. “If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask. And one of us will be back in a few hours for vitals and with her next bottle,” she said, handing a prepacked bottle to Kurt to feed the baby right then. 

“Thanks so much, Chloe,” Blaine said, Kurt nodding next to him. 

“My pleasure,” she answered, closing the door behind her. 

“She's sleeping so good, I almost don’t want to wake her up,” Blaine whispered, laying the baby down in the bassinet to unwrap her and change her diaper. 

“I know, but she’s so small...she needs to eat. And we should probably stick to the hospital’s schedule,” Kurt told him. 

She had started a full blown screaming cry by the time Blaine had changed her, wrapped her back up, and set her in Kurt’s arms to feed her the bottle. 

It took several frustrating tries for everyone, but finally she was sucking away hungrily, her eyes drifting back to sleep even as her mouth betrayed her and kept sucking. The rest of the night passed in much the same way. They tried to let her sleep in the crib, but would get up and grab her the second she made any sound. Chloe or Matt came in every two hours with a bottle and to get her vitals whether she was sleeping or not. Nobody got much rest that first night. 

At the 6 a.m. shift change, Chloe came in and introduced the day nurse, Jamie. She also told them the on-call pediatrician usually made rounds about eight, and was sure to release the baby girl, but they couldn't let her go until she was in an approved car seat for the ride home. 

Begrudgingly, Blaine headed home. He wanted to see the kids before they left for school anyway, and Kurt had texted Emma the night before to throw a big bin of baby clothes from the storage room into the washer before she went to sleep. Blaine needed enough time for everything to dry and to pick something that was suitable for her to go home in. 

Blaine hit some major traffic on his way home, and just barely made it to the house as Emma and Liam were getting ready to leave. 

“Hi Dad!” Liam called, jumping into his arms when Blaine walked through the garden door. “You have work today?” 

“Hey, how’s my jellybelly?” Blaine asked, kissing the side of Liam’s head before setting him back down. “No sweetie, no work for Daddy today.” 

“Hey, Blaine!” Emma called, coming down the hallway with her own bag slung on her shoulder. “Great timing, we were just heading out for school.” 

“I was really trying to get here to have breakfast with the kids, I can’t believe it took me so long to get home!” he cried, exasperated. 

“So, how is she?” Emma asked, helping Liam into his jacket and backpack. 

Blaine grinned like a goon. “Amazing. She’s so tiny and so stinkin' cute. She has not one hair on her entire bald head and the biggest bluest eyes you’ve ever seen,” Blaine bragged. “Complete and total opposite from those two hairy monkeys we had.” He laughed, ruffling Liam’s hair affectionately. 

“How adorable, I can’t wait to see her,” Emma squealed. “We have to get going or else he is gonna be late, but I think everything should be on the table. I washed and dried the whole bin of baby clothes, and brought up the stroller car seat combo Kurt had told me about. Other than that I didn't really see anything. Sophie helped me fold all the clothes and I think she picked an outfit for you guys, it’s laying out for you,” Emma told him, pushing Liam out the door. 

“Thank you so much, Emma!” Blaine called, following them to give Liam a hug and kiss goodbye. 

“No problem at all, we’ll see you around noon!” 

“Bye Daddy!” Liam waved as they walked down the street.

“Bye sweetie, have a good day!” 

Blaine walked back in and over to the dining room table. Sure enough, there were stacks of baby clothes with Sophie’s choice laid out, a post it note stuck to it that read “this one dads." 

He grabbed a pair of [pants](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979381428158/) to go with the [kimono](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979381641482/), and two blankets that were also on the table. 

Everything got thrown into Liam’s old diaper bag, before the bag was thrown into the car seat Emma had left out. One look at the stroller told Blaine the front wheel was broken, and he had no clue where the harness for the car was. They would just have to carry her and buckle her into the cab. 

“This is New York,” Blaine mumbled to himself, pouring coffee into a travel tumbler. “People have to leave the hospital with babies all the time. It will be fine.” 

******

The room was empty when Blaine came back to it. A very sleepless night led to a very panicked Blaine, but Jamie was rounding the corner and laughed, telling him Kurt and the baby were back in the nursery with the pediatrician, waiting for him. 

Kurt looked up with a smile when Blaine walked in, the diaper bag on his shoulder and the car seat over his arm. 

“She’s good to go.” Kurt told him. “Did you bring the Volvo?” 

Blaine shook his head as he handed the clothes over to Kurt to dress her. “The stroller is broken...we’ll have to get a cab and strap her in.” 

Kurt nodded as Jamie walked back over. 

“Okay, you guys are all set for discharge. Dr. Hopper signed off on everything, and Stacy filled out all her paperwork last night. I just need to check the car seat and you will be good to go.”

Blaine turned around and held the carrier out for her. “I stopped by the fire station and had them adjust the straps. Liam was quite a bit bigger the last time he used this.” 

Jamie laughed and nodded her head. “Well, I trust their judgement,” she said, nodding when she saw everything looked secure. She motioned for the baby to cut off her hospital bracelet, then motioned for Kurt and Blaine to cut off theirs as well. Kurt took them and dropped all three in the diaper bag while Blaine strapped the screaming baby into the car seat and attempted to put the pacifier back in her mouth. 

“Okay,” Jamie started, handing Kurt a second bag. “Here is enough formula and diapers for the next few days, I also threw in some wipes and a few extra pacifiers. Other than that, you guys are free to go.” 

The baby girl didn't stop crying until after they had strapped her into the hailed cab and it took off down the road. She dropped off to sleep while Blaine sang softly to her and Kurt held her tiny little hand. 

“Your first?” the cab driver asked, catching Kurt’s eye in the mirror. 

Kurt shook his head. “Third.” 

The cab driver laughed and nodded his head. “Yeah, had four myself. Never got any easier.” 

Blaine looked over at Kurt and gave him a sheepish grin before both of them turned their attention back to the sleeping bundle of baby. 

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Kurt said, still holding a tiny hand in his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! [This](http://notthatbea.tumblr.com/post/134057907183/fic-the-family-verse-pt-3-youll-never-walk) is the post on tumblr if you'd like to reblog, thanks again!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole lot can change in just one year…a new house, a new school, a new baby?? Just think of what can change in almost 10 years!?! One thing is for sure–Kurt, Blaine, and their children will never take this walk through life alone. They will always have each other, and the family they surround themselves with.
> 
>  
> 
> _Walk on, walk on…with hope in your heart…and you’ll never walk alone. You’ll never walk alone.-Carousel_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major love and thanks to my beta WhitesheepCBD <3<3

Blaine hummed as he bounced the baby in his arms and walked back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room. 

“Okay, I think I’m gonna have to go to the store,” Kurt announced. He had been sitting at the table going through all of Liam’s baby clothes and other odds and ends since they had gotten home with the baby girl over an hour before. “Everything here is too big for her, she needs a new stroller and car seat, and really needs one of those head support thingys.” 

Blaine nodded as he continued to walk and bounce the baby. The motion made her spit up a little on his cloth diaper covered shoulder, but it was the only thing that kept her quiet. 

“Should we make a list? Go together?” Blaine asked. “She needs something to sleep in as well, the crib is way too big for her and we gave away Liam’s bassinet.” 

Kurt nodded and grabbed his iPad from his bag. “I really don’t want to get her out again. If you’re okay with staying with her, I’ll go and try to be quick.” 

Blaine nodded before kissing her forehead. “Let’s make a list then.” 

******

Two hours later, Kurt came through the garden door, lugging bags behind him.

While he was gone, Blaine had called the kids pediatrician. The sweet baby girl was having trouble keeping anything on her stomach without spitting it back up, and Blaine was starting to get worried. 

“Did you get the soy gas and fussiness formula?” Blaine asked, hurrying over to help. 

“Yep, and the bottles the pediatrician recommended. This is only the first part. Her playpen/bassinet and carrier/stroller combo will be here in a little bit. I had those delivered.” 

Blaine nodded as they started unloading the bags. Kurt had gone all out. Before they did anything else, Kurt took all the clothes, blankets, burp clothes, socks, anything that would go on her body, and threw everything into a basket to wash. 

“I tried to stay away from too many outfits,” he confessed as the baby started to wake up from where Blaine had her napping in the car seat. “I tried to get as many beginner clothes as possible, sleepers, pants and onesies, that kind of thing.”

Blaine nodded again, pulling the whimpering baby up against his shoulder and shushing her with a gentle bounce. “I see a startling amount of pink,” Blaine teased. “If I remember correctly, you all but banned the color when Sophie was born.” 

Kurt rolled his eyes but bumped his hip against Blaine’s playfully. “I also had much more time to find what I wanted. This was a trip of necessity and I got what I could.”

“You did good.” 

Kurt laughed as he checked the list for the fourth time to make sure he had gotten everything they would need for the next few days. “I spent way too much on the carrier and stroller. But I wanted her to have the latest model, and all the salesperson had to do was start rambling about safety awards and I was hooked,” Kurt admitted. He walked back from washing his hands in the kitchen. 

Blaine laughed as he bounced the baby in his arms. “You always were.” 

Kurt scoffed but had to agree. “She deserves the best and only the best...although I may have gone just a tad overboard.” 

“Is he silly, baby bean?” Blaine giggled, asking the very alert baby in his arms. “Did Papa go a little overboard?” 

Both of them looked up and stared at each other, a quiet tension filling the room that hadn't been there before. 

“Oh,” Blaine whispered. “Maybe we shouldn’t say that?” 

Kurt shook his head and held out his arms to take the baby from Blaine. “No,” he decided, carefully adjusting the baby against his chest and kissing her hat-covered head.

“She can call me Papa,” Kurt cooed at her with a smile. “I’ll be your Papa as long as I can, baby bean.” 

******

Emma and Liam climbed out of the cab after it pulled up to their townhouse. Emma handed Liam the smaller bag of food they had picked up, her and Liam’s backpacks slung over her shoulder as she carried the other two bags from their favorite Chinese food takeout place. 

“Think we went a little overboard on the food, champ?” Emma asked Liam as the cab pulled away and they walked toward the door.

“Nope, In’ hungry,” Liam announced as Emma pulled her key out and unlocked the door. 

“I’m, Li,” she corrected gently. 

Liam shrugged as he walked down the hallway with the bag of food in his arms. “Dads!” he called, before Kurt rounded the corner with a grin. Liam squealed as he dropped the bag on the table and jumped into Kurt’s outstretched arms. 

“Hey,” Kurt laughed, kissing the side of Liam’s head and hugging him tight. “How’s my jellybelly? Did you have a good day at school?” 

“Is she here?!” Liam cried, completely ignoring his papa’s questions. “Can I see her?” 

Kurt laughed as he set the little boy back on the floor and tousled his hair.

“She’s here, sweetie. Go wash your hands, then you can go over to where Daddy and Uncle Sam are setting up her play yard. She’s in the bassinet next to them.” 

Liam hurried off to the bathroom as Kurt turned to where Emma was setting out food. 

“You are such a doll for picking up lunch for us.” 

Emma turned and grinned. “It was no problem, really. We might have gotten too much, though,” she laughed. “We were both really hungry and everything looked so good.” 

Kurt chuckled then motioned for her to follow him through the kitchen. “We recruited Sam to help put her bed and stroller together, so I’m sure everything will get eaten,” he assured her as they walked in the family room. "Rachel too, but Nick wasn't feeling well so she stayed home with him...just in case." 

Blaine had set Liam up in the chair, pillows tucked around him, and gently laid the sleeping baby in the little boy’s arms. 

“Whatcha think?” Kurt asked, pulling his phone from his back pocket to snap a few quick pictures. 

“She’s good," Liam nodded. "I like her.” 

“Being a big brother is an important job,” Sam told him, standing up the stroller they had just finished putting together. “You gonna be a good big brother?” 

Liam nodded very seriously before looking back down at the baby as she started to croak and fuss on his lap. 

“Oh,” Liam started. “You okay, maddy-baby?” 

Blaine looked over at Kurt and shrugged. “Maddie-baby?” he asked. 

“Yep,” Liam replied. “Like, ‘Whatsa maddie-baby?’.”

Kurt had to bite down on his lip not to laugh while Blaine nodded and grinned. “Maddie-baby, I like it.” 

******

Sam had to head out after lunch so he could get back home to his wife and son, but he promised to be back as soon as possible with Rachel. “She’s already texted me like seven times for pictures,” he told them before walking out the door.

Emma tried to get Liam to go upstairs to lay down for a nap, but he was much more interested in helping Kurt get the playpen set up. 

“See, we can change her diaper on this part,” Kurt explained, while Blaine rocked with the baby behind them. “Then she can sleep in this part, so we can reach her easy.” 

“But wait,” Liam started, looking around the room at the baskets of clean baby clothes and blankets. “She doesn't have any toys. She needs toys, daddies.” 

“She’s too little for toys just yet, jellybelly,” Kurt told him as he finished snapping the rest of the playpen together and motioned for Blaine to lay her down. 

“But...she doesn't even have any books. Papa, she needs books. How are you gonna put her to bed at night without books?” 

Kurt smiled down at his son. He rubbed his hand up and down Liam’s back and leaned down to kiss the top of his head. 

“You’re right, Li. We’ll get her some books and a few toys really soon, okay?” 

Liam didn't look entirely convinced as he looked around the room before settling back on the sleeping baby in front of him. “I’ll be right back,” he announced, running by Blaine on his way up the stairs. 

“Wait, where you going buddy?” Blaine called. 

“Up to my room!” Liam called back, his voice getting distant as he continued climbing the stairs. “I’ll be right back!” 

Blaine looked over but Kurt just shrugged. “Wanna help me figure out how to work this stroller? Looks way more complicated than Liam’s was.” 

Blaine laughed as he picked up the instructions where he and Sam had set them on the coffee table. 

They had just figured out how to get the toddler bar off and set the carrier down in the rear facing direction when Liam came back down, his arms laden with books, stuffed animals, and a few action figures. 

“Here,” the little boy announced, dropping his armful on the floor in front of the playpen. “She can have this til’ you get her some toys a' her own.” 

Kurt walked over and sat down on the floor next to him. “You are giving all of this to her?” 

Liam picked up one of the books before scooting back into Kurt’s lap. “Well...I get it back when you get her some a' her own, right?” he asked, turning his head to look up at his Papa. 

Kurt nodded before wrapping his arms around Liam’s shoulders and kissing the back of his head. “That is very sweet of you, honey. I’m sure she will love having some of your toys for a few days.” 

Liam yawned as he held the book up. “Will you read this to us, Papa?” 

Kurt nodded as he kissed Liam’s head again and started reading Goodnight Moon. 

******

Blaine took a cab the ten blocks to pick Sophie up from school but they walked the five blocks to Dean and Deluca together. Kurt had given him a list and they were stopping by on their way home. Blaine explained as carefully but as clearly as he could about the situation while they walked. What had happened to the baby, that she was okay, how this may be temporary, but it could be a more permanent situation as well. Nobody was sure yet, but they would be there for the baby as much as she needed them to be. Sophie nodded her understanding. 

After they finished their shopping, Blaine hailed a cab to drive them home. When they finally reached their block, she left him to carry the few bags and hurried in the house. She listened carefully while Kurt told her how to hold the baby securely, then sat in the chair for almost an hour while the baby slept peacefully in her arms.

******

Kurt walked into the living room after he and Emma had finished putting a quick dinner together. “She is sleepin’ so good in your arms, monster,” he murmured with a grin. “I almost don’t wanna get her up, but it’s time for both of you to eat.” 

Sophie nodded as Kurt gently lifted the baby from her arms, and stood up. “Can I feed her a bottle?” she asked, but Kurt shook his head. 

“No, not right now honey. You need to eat your dinner, and she’s a little finicky about eating. Maybe when she gets a little better about it, we’ll let you have a try.” 

Sophie nodded as Blaine called her to the table. 

After dinner, Emma took a turn with the baby while Kurt ate and helped Sophie with her homework. 

******

“Did you have a good day, my love?” Blaine asked Sophie later that night. He had just finished reading to Liam and was walking over to check in on Sophie. 

Bedtime was an important time for Blaine. His mom made it so when he was growing up. Every night she would ask about his day, they would talk about things he was dealing with. It’s when she would practice his Tagalog with him, it was their special time together. Even when he was older and she started traveling so much for her work, she always made sure to call Blaine at night to talk about his day, and make sure he knew how much she loved him before he fell asleep. Blaine carried this tradition on with his own children--talking about their day, reading books or singing, telling them how much he loveed them before they drift off to sleep. 

“Yeah,” Sophie replied, climbing up into bed. “I really like baby-Maddie, I hope she gets to stay with us,” she finished yawning. 

Blaine switched off her bathroom light and pulled her closet door shut. “Well, honey...I hope she does too, but she may not. We have to be okay if they find her mom and she goes back to living with her.” 

“But, why would her mom give her away if she wanted her back?” 

“Oh, monster...” Blaine sighed, sitting next to her on the bed. “Having a new baby is really, really hard. Especially when your baby is so small and you don't have anyone to help you take care of her. Her mom could have gotten really scared and overwhelmed. She may have felt like she didn't have any other option.” 

Sophie nodded, but Blaine could tell she was turning the information over in her head, trying to make sense of everything. 

“And, she did the right thing. You know how Papa and I tell you guys, that if you’re ever lost or scared of something or someone, to find a grownup in a uniform. That those people are there to help you?

Sophie nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well that’s what her mom did, she found someone she could trust would take care of her baby and make sure she was safe and went to the right people." He paused, running his hand over the light brown curls framing her face from her shower. "Everyone has the right to be scared, it’s what we do with that fear that matters.” 

Sophie’s big brown eyes were brimming with tears as she finally looked up at Blaine. “Did you ever think about giving me away?” she asked timidly, like she was afraid of the answer. 

Blaine shook his head as he scooted over and scooped her up in his arms. “Not even for a second,” he assured her, kissing the top of her head. “But Papa and I had each other, plus Aunt Mel, and Lola and Grandpa, Grampy and Gram, Rachel and Sam,” he explained. “We were blessed with so many people who loved all three of us and wanted to help. Her mommy may not have had anybody, and doing everything all by yourself would be so hard.”

Blaine shook his head and kissed Sophie again. Sophie nodded, leaning back against her pillows. “But,” Blaine started, his eyes getting just a little sad. “The only thing harder than doing it without anybody to help, would be realizing you can’t do it alone...and making the decision to give her baby up. I can’t even imagine how hard that must have been for her.” Blaine shook his head, his eyes clouding over with unshed tears before sighing and looking at his daughter. 

Sophie nodded again, but didn't say anything...and Blaine’s heart sank. 

“Is this too much, monster? Too much to think about right before bed?” he asked, but Sophie shook her head. 

“No, Daddy, it’s not. I promise. I was just thinking, that if her mom does come back for her...maybe we could be there for her. Like our family was there for you and Papa when you had me 'n Liam.” 

Blaine felt the tears well in his eyes. He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat and smiled at his beautiful daughter. 

“You have such a kind heart, Sophia Elizabeth,” he murmured, his lips against her forehead as he pulled her into another tight squeeze. “It’s one of the hundred million things I love most about you.”

“I love you too, Daddy,” she yawned, pulling out of the hug and leaning back against her pillows again. 

******

Liam was sound asleep when Blaine walked in to check on him. One leg completely out from under his blankets and hanging off the side of his little toddler bed, almost touching the floor from how much he’d grown even over the last few months.

Kurt had mentioned earlier that week that it was probably time for him to get a bigger bed like Sophie’s and Blaine had to agree. He already looked like was going to grow out of this one. Blaine looked down at his sleeping baby boy, carefully moved his leg so it was under the covers and kissed his head. He made sure his baby monitor was on and working before closing his door as well and heading down the stairs.

He stopped on the next floor to turn off the hall light, but when he did, he saw the nursery light was on. Frowning, Blaine backtracked and walked into the half decorated nursery. Kurt was rocking in the chair next to the partially assembled crib, the sweet baby girl wrapped in a pink swaddling blanket. 

Kurt’s eyes were closed, but he smiled when Blaine walked in and sat up a little. “I think she may finally be down for the count, we just needed to rock for a few minutes,” Kurt murmured as Blaine walked over to them and kneeled on the floor. 

“Do you wanna move the chair to our bedroom? We could make some room for it next to the bassinet.” 

Kurt shook his head, smiling down at the sleeping bundle of baby in his arms. “Nah, soon enough she’ll be big enough for the crib...” he trailed off, knowing she may not be with them long enough to ever sleep in that crib. Kurt sighed and shook the sad thoughts from his head, rocking back and forth in the chair and smiled at his husband. 

“We heard you singing to Liam,” he smiled, standing up and following Blaine out the room and down the stairs. “We harmonized just a bit.” Kurt grinned, walking onto their floor and into their room. 

Blaine chuckled as he took the sleeping baby from Kurt and kissed her cheek. “Are you gonna be the singer in the family, the other two don’t seem that interested,” Blaine cooed, carefully laying her in the bassinet and covering her with a second blanket. He stood over her for just a moment to make sure she stayed asleep. 

Blaine sighed as he walked over to the bathroom sink and started brushing his teeth. 

“I’m gonna go lock the house up and set the alarm, then grab water to make her bottles with tonight. Emma texted that she was in for the night. Do you want anything besides water?” Kurt asked, kissing the back of his husband's head as he walked by. 

Blaine spat out the mouthful of toothpaste and rinsed before answering. “I think I left my phone on the island, could you grab that for me?” he asked, unbuttoning his pants to change into his pajamas. 

Kurt nodded as he started down the stairs. 

Blaine was changed and in bed flipping channels on their TV above the fireplace by the time Kurt made it back upstairs. 

“I grabbed your computer too, it probably needs to charge,” he called, walking through their bathroom and into the studio to plug it in on Blaine’s desk. 

“Thank you,” Blaine answered, keeping his voice soft so the baby didn't wake up. 

Kurt spent a few minutes on his nighttime skin care before turning off the lights and climbing into bed as well. 

“Is Liam’s monitor on?” he asked as Blaine switched off the television and turned off the lamp on his bedside table. 

“Yep, still fast asleep.” 

Kurt snuggled down in bed next to his husband, throwing an arm over Blaine’s chest as he felt Blaine’s hand running up and down his back. 

The room was quiet for a few long moments, nothing but the rustle of fabric as Blaine continued to run his hand up and down Kurt’s back.

“I think we might be in trouble, babe.” Kurt voice broke the silence of the room. Blaine sighed but Kurt could feel him nodding. 

“I know, I think I’m in love with her already.” 

Kurt nodded as a single tear dripped down his nose and fell on Blaine’s silk pajama top. 

“I looked it up today,” he sniffed, Blaine’s arm coming around him even tighter. “It’s really rare a Safe Haven parent comes back. Once they make that decision, it usually sticks.” 

Blaine nodded but didn't say anything for a few long moments. “I was talking with Sophie tonight, about everything,” he started as Kurt shifted his body so he was looking up at Blaine. “About her birth mom, and how hard everything must have been for her, what giving up her baby meant.” 

“How did she take it?” 

Blaine sighed out a small laugh. “She asked if we had ever thought about giving her or Liam up,” he admitted, Kurt's arms tightening around his middle. “I assured her that we never did, that we had plenty of help and love to make sure she grew up safe and protected. And maybe that's why the baby's mom did what she did, because she had to.” 

Kurt just nodded, willing his anger at this unknown woman to stay at bay. He didn't know her, he didn't know her situation...he had no room to judge her. “What did she say?” 

Blaine sighed out a soft laugh. “She asked if her mom did come back, if we could be the support system she needed to take care of a baby.” 

Kurt sucked in a breath through his teeth and shook his head. “What did you tell her?”

Blaine shrugged. “I didn't really tell her anything. Just that I loved how kind her heart was.” 

Kurt nodded against his husband's chest as they started to drift off to sleep. “Mmm, she gets that from you.”

It wasn't long before both of them were sound asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! [Here](http://notthatbea.tumblr.com/post/134198053448/fic-the-family-verse-pt-3-youll-never-walk) is the post on tumblr if you'd like to reblog!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole lot can change in just one year…a new house, a new school, a new baby?? Just think of what can change in almost 10 years!?! One thing is for sure–Kurt, Blaine, and their children will never take this walk through life alone. They will always have each other, and the family they surround themselves with.
> 
>  
> 
> _Walk on, walk on…with hope in your heart…and you’ll never walk alone. You’ll never walk alone.-Carousel_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have a name!

Kurt sighed as he wiped Liam’s face after he finished his PB & J and carrot sticks.

“Papa, can I go play with my train?” Liam asked, hopping down from his chair. 

Kurt nodded his consent. “Twenty minutes, Li. That’s it. It’s almost naptime.” 

Liam hurried off toward the back door as Kurt rinsed the dishes in the sink from lunch. Blaine was upstairs with the baby, trying to get her to go back down after spitting up almost her entire bottle. He hadn't heard her crying in a while, maybe Blaine had finally gotten her down. If he could get Liam to take a nap for an hour or two, maybe the two of them could also lay down. 

Baby-Maddie, as they had all taken to calling her, had slept pretty well through the night. But the first night with a newborn was always rough, and coming off a weekend where neither of them had gotten much rest wasn't helping matters. Adding to the stress, she seemed to be having an issue with the formula. Either it didn't agree with her, or she had some type of reflux issue. She seemed to spit back up most of what she ate and then cried because she was hungry. 

They had already called their pediatrician a second time. She had told them to elevate her while she was sleeping for now, but to bring her in and she would take a look. Kurt had been a little hesitant to make an appointment. What if CPS came to get her? 

“What if they don’t?” Blaine had asked while Kurt was on hold with the nurse. “Make the appointment and we’ll cancel if we need to. I’d feel better about her seeing our doctor anyway.” 

Kurt had to agree.

Blaine came down the stairs with the empty bottle just as Kurt finished loading the dishwasher.

“She’s finally out,” he said, unscrewing the top of the bottle to rinse it out and set in the steamer. “She still spit up most of this though.” 

Kurt shook his head as he took a sip of his water and rubbed his eyes. “I’m worried, honey,” Kurt admitted. “She’s already so small, what if she isn't getting enough to eat?” 

Blaine nodded and set the steamer to start. “Me too,” he agreed. “She's elevated though, so I don’t want to leave her alone long...even with the monitor.” 

Kurt nodded as he looked out the back door to watch Liam run around their enclosed back garden area. 

“I’m gonna take him up in a few, hopefully he’ll take a better nap today and we can all rest for a little while before her appointment.” 

Blaine nodded as he pushed himself off the counter, walked over to kiss Kurt’s cheek, then headed toward the stairs. “I gotta make a few calls anyway. Postpone a few things to next week.”

Kurt agreed. He'd called his assistant Malerie yesterday to take a few personal days, both from his own personal work, and the magazine. Nobody from Rage, except Isabelle, knew the whole story. But he wasn't ready to make a big announcement, at least until they had something concrete to announce. Just as he was about to go spend a few minutes outside with Liam, the doorbell rang. Thinking it was probably FedEx with the swing he'd ordered the night before, Kurt called Liam in to follow him upstairs to answer it. 

“Hello,” Stacy laughed when she looked down and saw three year old Liam at the door. Kurt poked his head around the side and smiled. 

“Hi, we’re working on stranger manners,” he explained as Liam eyed the new adult critically. 

“May I help you?” Liam asked as he crossed his arms and cocked his hip. 

Stacy looked at Kurt with laughter in her eyes and bit her lip to keep from giggling. “I’m here to see your daddies, is that okay?” 

Liam nodded his head and turned to Kurt. “There’s a lady at the door for you and Daddy, Papa.” 

Kurt laughed as he opened the door fully. “‘Working’ on it, the key word there,” he said, motioning for Stacy to come in.

Stacy smiled down at the little boy standing next to Kurt and held out her hand for him to shake. 

“My name’s Stacy,” Kurt nudged Liam a little until he took Stacy’s hand in a firm shake.

“Liam Devon Anderson-Hummel. Nice to meet you,” he responded before looking up at Kurt. 

“Good job, buddy,” Kurt praised softly. 

“It’s very nice to meet you too, Liam.” 

“Blaine is upstairs with the baby, and our older daughter, Sophie, is still at school.” Kurt showed Stacy to the living room. 

“I don’t go to school all days, just some days,” Liam announced, following both of them. 

“Do you like school, Liam?” Stacy asked, declining Kurt’s offer for something to drink. 

“Yeah...” Liam trailed off. “I like being home with my daddies though.” 

“I would too,” Stacy agreed, smiling as she looked up at Kurt. 

“Our nanny ran to the market, so let me go get him interested in something and grab Blaine. Are you sure you don’t want something to drink, or eat?” 

“That’s fine. Take your time,” Stacy assured him. “And Kurt, calm down. Everything is fine, I promise.” 

Kurt sighed with relief as he nodded and nudged Liam up the stairs. 

Twenty minutes later, Liam was laying on the floor in the foyer with his crayons and coloring book, and Kurt and Blaine sat across from Stacy with the baby girl fast asleep in the bassinet next to the couch. 

“So, before we start,” Stacy began, eyeing both of them playfully. “How is everything going? Any issues?” 

Kurt and Blaine shared a quiet look as they both nodded. “Everything is pretty good,” Kurt finally broke in. “She’s having some issues with eating and spitting up--but we made an appointment with our pediatrician today, so hopefully we can get that checked into.”

Stacy nodded as she reached into her bag and pulled out another slightly smaller, accordion folder. “Well, we’ve had a slight change in procedure today,” she began, as Kurt’s heart dropped to his knees and Blaine’s grip on his hand tightened. 

“This was on my desk when I got to work this morning,” Stacy announced, patting the top of the brown folder. “It’s from her birth mother.” 

Kurt gasped as Stacy started pulling documents from the folder. “Her birth certificate,” Stacy said, passing the document over for Kurt and Blaine to look at. 

“Louisa Mabel Dorset,” Blaine read, gasping when he caught sight of the date. “March 13th?” he cried, looking up at Stacy for an explanation. “Is this right?” 

Stacy nodded her head sadly. “It seems to be. We checked the hospital records, and even found some information from the clinic where her mother received prenatal care. If you give me your pediatrician's name, we’ll fax over all her medical records. You are entitled to those if you are providing medical care for the child in question.” 

“Oh my god,” Kurt grimaced, looking over at the tiny baby sleeping in the bassinet next to the couch. “I was thinking ten days was a stretch but...I can’t believe she’s almost four weeks old.” 

“The doctor at the hospital yesterday actually guessed she was little older than ten days to be fair, he said she had some rotary functions that come with developing babies,” Blaine reminded them, both nodding along. 

“Still...” Kurt trailed off as Stacy handed over another piece of paper, this one a photocopy of what looked like a handwritten letter. 

“She pretty much relinquishes all rights to the child,” Stacy told them, crossing her legs and setting her chin in her hand. 

“Pretty much?” Kurt asked as Blaine skimmed the letter and Stacy nodded again. 

“Well, the issue is that her mother has about four different names on these documents...each one different from the last. She names the baby's heritage in one of them as Russian--we are guessing her mother is a Russian immigrant and evading INS with all the fake identities.” 

“Dorset doesn't sound very Russian?” Blaine asked, handing the letter over for Kurt to read as well. 

Stacy motioned to the letter. “She alludes to the fact that the birth father is an American...” she trailed off as Kurt interrupted. 

“But no longer in the picture.” 

Stacy nodded her agreement but shrugged again. “And we don't know if that means--prison, or deceased...she was intentionally vague. But she wanted us to have her information. We are taking this and moving forward.” 

“Forward?” Blaine asked, his voice dripping with nervousness, but Stacy gave him a warm smile. 

“Forward,” she repeated. “Linda was going to come with me today, but she got held up with another client. She told me to have you guys call her if you have any questions from a legal standpoint...but we are going to get the ball rolling on temporary placement.” Kurt and Blaine exchanged a look as Stacy hesitated. “That is, if that’s still what you both want.” 

“Yes! Of course, this is just all so fast...we thought we would have to wait until tomorrow?” Kurt insisted as Blaine nodded next to him.

Stacy looked visibly relieved as she set out next batch of forms everyone would need to sign. “Technically, yes,” she admitted. “I cannot file these until tomorrow after 5:30pm, but at this point...it’s just a technicality. We have every reason to believe her birth mother will not be coming back for her, and it’s the state’s intent to place her in your care.” 

Blaine let a smile creep over his face as he squeezed Kurt’s hand again and nodded. “Okay.” 

Stacy pointed out where everyone needed to sign, while also explaining what the next few weeks would look like. What was required of them, as well as what was required of the state. 

“You will probably still have at least one surprise visit from DCFS, and it won’t be me,” Stacy explained. “But then everything will go through your lawyer and the state. Linda and I will do most of the corresponding from this point on, and we will let you know when and where you need to be.” 

******

Emma had returned to take Liam downstairs by the time Stacy shook both Kurt and Blaine’s hands, telling them she would be in touch over the next week. They thanked her over and again as Blaine showed her out, and Kurt rushed downstairs to tell Emma and Liam and call everyone with the news. 

Kurt was still on the phone with his dad when Emma took Liam upstairs for a nap. He hurried after them so he could get the baby dressed and pack the diaper bag. Her doctor's appointment was in half an hour, and they would have just enough time to get there if they left right then. 

“I’ll tell you this much, Soph and I are taking this baby shopping soon for some actual clothes,” Kurt decided as he placed warm orange socks on the baby’s feet and pulled her up into his arms. “I never would have let Liam or Sophie leave the house in anything like this. Every moment is an opportunity for fashion, little one.” 

Blaine chuckled as he watched his husband kiss the baby’s sweet cheek as he tossed a few extra burp cloths into her diaper bag. 

“We need to go,” Blaine announced as the slung the bag over his shoulder and picked up his phone from his side of the bed. 

Kurt looked up from where he was strapping the baby into her car seat and nodded. 

A twenty-five minute cab ride later, they were walking into their pediatricians building. Once they had been shown to a room, Blaine plucked the baby from her carrier and held her while Kurt stripped her down to just her diaper, keeping the blue blanket around her for warmth. A young nurse came in after a few moments to take down the baby’s weight and other vitals, while also asking question after question to fill out her preliminary information for their records. She smiled and told them the doctor would be in soon, before softly closing the door behind her. 

“Well, that was kind of embarrassing,” Kurt stated once they had both settled down in the chairs next to the examining table, Blaine cuddling the now very awake baby against his chest. 

Blaine looked over at him and nodded. “We have got to come up with a name for her. Especially since it looks like she will be with us for a while...” he trailed off and bent his neck down to kiss the top of her hat-covered head. “A long while I hope.”

“Forever?” Kurt asked with a grin. 

Blaine looked over and shrugged one shoulder slightly with a grin of his own. “Forever sounds good to me.” 

Kurt draped his arm around Blaine’s shoulder and leaned in to smile softly at the tiny little baby curled against his husband's chest. “All the more reason to give her a name,” he reminded him. “We can’t have another incident like that where we don’t know if we should give them her actual legal name, or the one we’ve been calling her.” 

Blaine chuckled again as he adjusted the blanket and looked over to smile at his husband. “Well, I doubt very much ‘Maddie-baby’ will fly.” 

“And I maintain that one Sound-of-Music-esq name is enough for one family.” 

Blaine outright laughed at that and nodded his head. “Touche.” 

The door opened then as a middle aged woman with light brown hair pulled into a smart bun walked in. “Good afternoon, daddies. How we doing today?” she asked, closing the door behind her and setting the iPad she was carrying on the examining table. 

“Worried about this little one, to be honest,” Kurt answered her, motioning for Blaine to stand up. 

“I can see why,” Dr. Foreman started as Blaine laid the baby down on the table and she started to whine. “The records DCFS emailed us said she’s almost four weeks old?” 

Blaine nodded, holding the palm of his hand over the tiny baby’s stomach while the doctor started her examination. 

“She’ll be four weeks exactly on Thursday,” Kurt interjected as he walked over to stand on the other side of the table. Still very close to his baby, but out of the way of the doctor. “We thought she was much younger, originally.”

Dr. Foreman nodded as she marked down the baby girl’s heart rate. “I can see why, she is much too small to be approaching four weeks--especially since her clinic forms say she was full term at birth.” 

Kurt and Blaine were quiet as they let the doctor finish her examination, whispering softly to the mewling baby girl to soothe her, Dr. Foreman also talking softly to her, telling her how pretty she was and how good she was being. 

“She was breast fed before she came to you?” Dr. Foreman asked, as she motioned that they could pick her up again.

Kurt nodded, reaching over to pick the baby back up and hold against his chest. “So were Sophia and Liam, for the first month--but we never had this kind of issue with them, even when we switched them to formula.” 

“Is it serious?” Blaine asked as Dr. Foreman told them they could dress her again. “We looked it up and the best we could come up with was a reflux of some kind.” 

Dr. Foreman nodded as she sat on the rolling stool and clicked a few more things into her iPad, before setting the electronic device down and making eye contact with the two very concerned men. 

“That’s what I originally suspected when we first talked, which is why I recommended the change in formula and elevated sleeping patterns,” she paused as Kurt sat back down next to Blaine and held the now dressed and swaddled baby in his arms. “Now, seeing her, considering her weight against her other symptoms...I’m actually more convinced she has developed a type of Lactose Intolerance.”

“Wait, she’s Lactose Intolerant?” Blaine asked, sighing. This was something he could understand, but Dr. Foreman shook her head. 

“Not exactly,” she explained. “Traditional Lactose Intolerance is actually extremely rare in infants, and since the stool sample they took at the hospital came back normal, it’s more likely that she was allergic to something her birth mother was eating, and then passing along in her milk. It’s called Secondary Lactose Intolerance.”

Kurt's eyes got wide as he continued to rock and shush the baby in his arms. “That can happen?”

Dr. Foreman nodded and smiled sadly. “Unfortunately, yes. It very much can happen. The good news, is that she’s already been off of the breast for almost three days, so her body has already had a chance to start healing. The bad news is whatever she was allergic to was potentially eating a hole in her guttural lining.” 

“Oh my god,” Kurt gasped, leaning down to kiss the top of the baby’s hat-covered head as Blaine set his hand on Kurt’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“Yeah, it can get quite serious if not treated. Which is why we’ll get her on a specially formulated formula, monitor her weight and progress, and I’ll have you guys come back in a week to make sure she’s on the mend.” 

Kurt and Blaine both nodded as Dr. Foreman picked her iPad back up and clicked a few more items into the baby’s file. 

“Could that be why she is spitting up so much?” Blaine asked

Dr. Foreman looked up and set the iPad back on her lap. “It could be...her stomach might just be really sensitive and rebelling against anything you are putting into it right now--it also could be a reflux issue like we had originally thought. I would continue to keep her elevated as much as possible, make sure you are extracting as much gas as possible after each feeding, and try to hold her upright when she’s not eating. We want this good stuff to stay in her tummy so she can get better, faster.” 

Both men nodded again as Dr. Foreman stood up and moved toward the door. “We’ll get you guys set up with a starter kit for today, and a prescription that any pharmacy should be able to fill by tomorrow at the latest.”

“Thank you so much Doctor,” Blaine said, holding his hand over his heart as Kurt moved to strap the baby back in her carrier. 

“My pleasure,” Dr. Foreman insisted, smiling at the baby once more. “We’ll see you guys next week for her follow up...maybe by then she’ll have a name, yeah?” Dr. Foreman laughed when both Kurt and Blaine groaned, but promised they would get right on that. 

******

Emma was sitting at the island in the kitchen on one of the stools when they walked in. She had Liam’s baby monitor sitting in front of her as she chopped veggies for the stir fry Blaine had written down on the weekly meal chart. 

“Hey guys,” she called with a smile as they walked down the hallway and set the carrier on the table in the dining room. “How’d it go?” 

Kurt shrugged out of his jacket and walked over to the sink to wash his hands to help Emma with dinner while Blaine pulled the baby from her carrier and held her whining body against his chest. 

“She’s way too small, and Dr. Foreman put her on a special formula to help her with her digestive tract,” Blaine explained, kissing the top of the baby’s head again as he swayed from side to side. 

Kurt looked over from where he had started pulling other ingredients from the pantry and explained the rest of their visit to Emma while they continued getting dinner together.

Blaine set the baby in the playpen tucking the monitor in his back pocket on his way upstairs, telling Emma he would grab Liam. 

“So, will the formula help with the spitting up, too?” Emma asked, washing her hands after she’d finished chopping. 

Kurt shrugged. “Hopefully. Dr. Foreman seemed to think the spitting up was because her stomach was so sensitive to everything,and once she puts on some more weight, it could diminish, but that we should keep up with the elevating practices as well.” 

Emma stuck out her lip as she grabbed her bag from the table and slung it over her shoulder. “Poor baby...” she trailed off, grabbing her keys as well. “I’m gonna go pick up Sophie. Do you need anything else while I’m out?” 

Kurt looked up and gave her a half smile as he washed his hands and Blaine walked back in with a very sleepy Liam on his hip. “No thanks, honey. We’re all good here.” 

Emma nodded as she started to walk away, before turning again. “Oh, Kurt, I forgot. A package came for you while you were gone.” 

Kurt looked over from where he was taking Liam from Blaine. “Oh, her swing?”

Emma shook her head as she backed her way down the hallway. “I don’t think so, it looks too small for a swing. It’s upstairs on the table in the foyer.” 

Kurt nodded as Blaine thanked her and she headed out. 

Kurt kissed Liam’s temple as he clung to him like a little monkey and whined. “Hey, wanna go upstairs with me and get that package? I could really use your help.” 

Liam nodded as Blaine chuckled next to them and rubbed his hand on the back of Liam’s head. “The oil is in the wok heating up, could you toss the chicken around a bit and let it cook?” Kurt asked as he carried Liam toward the stairs and Blaine nodded. 

Kurt set Liam on his feet once they made it to the foyer. “Wow, bud! Watcha think is in there?” 

“A puppy?” Liam asked, rubbing his eyes as he walked over to the big white box. 

Kurt snorted out a sarcastic laugh. “One addition to the family at a time there, Li...” he trailed off, turning the box to see who it was from. 

“Huh, it’s from Papa’s work,” Liam looked up at him and asked if they could open it. 

Kurt shook his head and lifted the box. It didn't feel too heavy...but he wasn't expecting anything, and especially not anything from Rage. “Let’s take it downstairs, see if Daddy knows what’s going on.” 

Liam nodded his assent and followed Kurt back downstairs. 

Blaine turned from the stove as they walked back in the kitchen. 

“It’s from Rage?” Kurt asked as he set the box down on the floor, telling Liam he could open it as Blaine shrugged and walked over to them. 

Once Liam had pulled the strings loose, he lifted the top of the box off. Kurt looked down and saw a note placed on top of folded tissue paper. 

“It’s from Isabelle,” he started with a smile as he began to read aloud. “ _'These adorable clothes deserve to be worn, not sitting in a closet. May she wear them in health, happiness, and love. -Isabelle.’_ ” 

Blaine _awwed_ as he pulled back the tissue paper and gasped. Kurt looked over as he watched Blaine pull [outfit](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979382878641/) after [outfit](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979382878788/) from the box, each little piece cuter than the one before, finishing with an adorable pair of [blue shoes](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979382878781/). 

“Oh my god, this is Darling Clementine.” Kurt gasped, reaching in to grab another set of [dresses](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979382878761/) and little pants. “We printed their line in the magazine this winter and they sent all this stuff over...I had completely forgotten about it.” 

Liam huffed out a sigh and stood up. “Why is it always clothes?” he groaned, completely losing interest and walking back to the family room to play and watch the sleeping baby. 

Blaine rolled his eyes at his son then turned back to Kurt, lifting up the small stuffed bear from the box and cooing at it. “This stuff is adorable.” 

Kurt nodded as he held the note close to his chest and picked up the charcoal gray jumper and held it up for Blaine to see. “I must put this on her as soon as possible.” 

“Oh my gosh, look at these furry little boots!” Blaine cried as Kurt rounded everything up to be washed in the special soap, already planning a little baby fashion show for him and Sophie to put on that night--complete with pictures he would instantly e-mail to Isabelle with his heartfelt thanks. 

******

“Wait...I thought her name was Maddie?” Sophie asked, a bite of rice halfway to her mouth. Liam looked across the table at his sister and nodded. 

“Yeah, Maddie.” he reiterated, picking up a cooked snap pea and plucking it in his mouth. 

“Liam honey, use your fork not your fingers,” Blaine gently coached as he picked up his son’s fork and handed it to him. “And, we’ve been calling her Maddie-baby, because we didn't know what her name was...” 

Kurt nodded as Blaine trailed off and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “But after Ms. Stacy came today and told us she is going to be staying with us for a while, at least...she needs a permanent name. Something we can call her always. Like how your names are Sophia and Liam.” 

Sophie scrunched up her face as she took a sip from her glass of water. Liam, across from her, concentrated on holding his fork correctly so as not to drop any rice on his shirt--finally giving up and taking a bite. 

Blaine rolled his eyes with a chuckle and handed him a spoon. 

“Well, can’t we keep calling her Maddie? Like how my name is Sophia, but everyone calls me Sophie...or how everyone calls butt-breath over there, Li.”

“Hey!” Liam cried indignantly. 

“Sophie, don’t call your brother names, especially at the dinner table. It’s rude,” Kurt interjected. 

“Oh, so I can call him butt-breath as long as we aren't at the table?” she asked, a wicked grin spreading across her face as Liam stuck out his tongue and watched his spoonful of rice and vegetables drop to his shirt again. 

“Sophia Elizabeth,” Blaine warned as Kurt shook his head and closed his eyes to calm himself. 

Thankfully Emma walked in the room at that moment. “She’s out,” Emma announced, walking over to hand Kurt the monitor. “If that’s it from me for tonight, I’m going to go get ready and head out.” 

“Thank you so much Emma, have fun,” Kurt called, nodding. 

“I will, see you guys in the morning,” she told the kids as they called goodnight to her as well. 

“Night Emma, be safe,” Blaine called as he reached across the table to pour more wine into his husband's glass with a pointed look. Kurt chuckled a thank you before bringing the rim of the glass to his lips for a small sip. 

“Okay,” Kurt began, setting down his glass and taking another deep breath. “Where were we?” 

“Maddie-baby!” Liam cried, nodding yes to his dad for a drink from his cup of milk. 

“Right,” Kurt started, taking a bite from his plate and glancing at his daughter next to him. “If you guys like Maddie, we can stick with that. I like it,” he finished, looking over at Blaine, who was nodding. 

“Me too.” Blaine agreed. 

Sophie sat up a little straighter and put her fork down. “But, it has to be her nickname--like Sophie or....” Kurt sent her his best glare as she giggled and threw her head back. “Li.” 

Kurt eyed Sophie pointedly before taking a sip of water and drumming his fingers on the table. “Okay, well...what could Maddie be short for?” he looked over at Blaine. “Madison?” 

Blaine nodded. “Matilda or Madelyn?” 

“Ooo, Matilda is pretty,” Kurt agreed as Sophie perked up next to him. 

“Wait, what about Madeline? Like the Madeline in the books who wears the yellow hat and lives in Paris? I like that.” 

Kurt looked over at Blaine, who was grinning. “Madeline, huh? What do you think, Liam?” 

Liam looked up from where he had been surreptitiously blowing little bubbles in his milk with the straw in his cup. Blaine rolled his eyes and gently took the cup away from him before setting it back on the table. “What do you think about Madeline, Liam?” Blaine asked again. 

Liam nodded and picked his spoon back up. “It’s good.” 

Kurt looked up from where he had been staring at the middle of the table, lost in deep thought for a few seconds. “Madeline Louise,” he announced. 

Blaine gave his husband a soft smile and reached across the table to pick up his hand. “["Madeline Louise Anderson-Hummel. I love it.”](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/37/49/6e/37496e901e80494437f77aaa787edc58.jpg)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Also, this year I'm filling the Klaine Advent prompts with little drabbles inside this 'verse. [Here](http://notthatbea.tumblr.com/tagged/klaineadvent) is the tag if you'd like to read<3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole lot can change in just one year…a new house, a new school, a new baby?? Just think of what can change in almost 10 years!?! One thing is for sure–Kurt, Blaine, and their children will never take this walk through life alone. They will always have each other, and the family they surround themselves with.
> 
> _Walk on, walk on…with hope in your heart…and you’ll never walk alone. You’ll never walk alone.-Carousel_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one today. Lunch and shopping date with Kurt, his two girls, and Auntie Mel.

Kurt carefully set the carrier holding [Madeline](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/bd/3c/fb/bd3cfb5f905a41cc631342e248d940d5.jpg) into the stroller until he heard the click telling him she was secure. He adjusted the blanket he'd put in with her and smiled at the outfit he'd let Sophie pick out that morning. The dress and hat were adorable, but she needed more...no baby of his would be limited in their wardrobe. Today's lunch and shopping date was the perfect excuse to spoil both his girls (and maybe himself as well), and give Mel some time with the newest member of their family.

Madeline, or Maddie as she was called almost as often, had been with them for just over two weeks, but Mel had been in San Francisco for work and while they had Skyped and even Face-timed once or twice, she was itching to get that baby in her arms. 

Blaine had to be at the theater all day to oversee the Saturday matinee and evening shows. Emma had taken Liam to his playdate while Kurt had piled Sophie and Maddie into a town car headed for Almond, one of their favorite brunch spots that also had a delicious lunch menu. 

Sophie was standing on the sidewalk, looking around, while she waited for her Papa to finish with her baby sister. 

Kurt looked up from fussing with the diaper bag. "Okay monster, looks like the baby is falling asleep. It's a nice day, do you wanna sit outside and wait for Aunt Mel?" 

Sophie nodded and they were seated at a corner table. Mel walked up a few moments later and pulled both of them into big bear hugs before leaning down to fully examine the sleeping baby in her stroller. 

It wasn’t until they had placed their order with the waitress that Madeline started to stir. Kurt relented with a playful eye roll and leaned in to pick her up, only to lay the baby gently in Mel's eager arms.

"Oh my goodness, hello precious..." she cooed, rocking the baby girl back and forth a few times. Kurt busied himself with making a bottle and setting it in the travel warmer. 

"She is so beautiful, Kurt!" Mel cried. "Like a little bald porcelain doll!" 

Kurt laughed good-naturdely as he leaned over to smile at his youngest baby, both of them falling into a fit of giggles when Maddie started rooting around at Mel's chest. "She does that to Rach too," he explained. "Although, since Rachel is actually still nursing Nick, she gets even more frustrated with us when Rachel hands her back and all we have is the bottle." 

Mel awwed as she took the freshly warmed bottle and a clean cloth diaper for her shoulder "It's just as good sweetie, I promise." 

Mel asked Sophie about school and the three talked their way through another lunch, with Maddie sleeping peacefully in Mel's arms and Sophie talking a mile a minute about anything and everything. 

Mel asked Kurt about baby Maddie’s health. 

“She’s doing better,” he answered, nodding. “Still having some reflux issues, but we are off the prescription formula and she had actually gained a few ounces at her check-up yesterday.”

Mel nodded as they discussed, again, how they had never heard of babies being allergic to something in breast milk, and Kurt shared his fear that she would have more problems with allergies as she got older. 

"Alright, Auntie," Kurt finally declared during a lull in the conversation. "Hand the baby over to me so I can go change her and you can finish your lunch." 

Sophie watched her Papa with a curious look as Kurt stood, tossed the diaper bag over his shoulder and cuddled Maddie close to his chest to walk inside for the restroom. 

"So Miss Sophia," Mel interrupted her thoughts. "How do you like having a baby sister? She borrowing all your stuff yet?" 

Sophie giggled and shook her head. "It's pretty good...I like having another sister in the house." 

Mel wiped her mouth with her napkin and winked. "I always wanted a little sister, too. All I got was a stinky older brother!" 

Sophie and Mel both laughed and Sophie set down her fork. "Can I ask you a question?" 

"Of course, always." 

"Will you still..." Sophie stopped and tried to gather her thoughts together while Mel waited and gave her a patient smile. "Will you still be Maddie's Aunt Mel?" 

Mel's face scrunched with confusion and tilted her head. "Whatdya mean, sweetie?"

Sophie took a breath and shrugged. "Well, Liam and I call you Aunt Mel....can Maddie call you Aunt Mel, too? Even though you weren't pregnant with her like you were with us?" 

Mel's face broke into a fond smile. She reached her hand over to give Sophie's a quick squeeze. "Of course, Soph. Maddie can call me whatever she wants, but I would love it if she called me Aunt Mel like you and Liam do." 

Sophie nodded with a relieved smile and sighed.

Mel tilted her head again. "Aw, honey...were you worried?" 

"Sorta..." Sophie shrugged. 

Mel sat back in her chair and nudged her foot up against Sophie's under the table. "Hey, you know I love you, right?" 

Sophie looked up and nodded with a small smile. 

"Well, I don't just love you because I gave birth to you," Mel said carefully. "I love you because we are all family. You and your brother and sister and your dads, and me and Luke...we all make up our family."

Sophie grinned and nodded again, relief and understanding written all over her face as Mel stood up and moved closer to her. 

"No matter what, family is always the most important...whether it's the family you were born into, or the family you find, or the family you make later in your life...love is what makes you a family. I love Maddie because she's part of us, just like you and Liam." 

Sophie grinned and leaned into the kiss Mel pressed against her forehead. "Does that make you feel a little better?" Mel asked. 

"Yeah." 

*******

By 5:00 pm, they were all exhausted but Kurt considered the shopping to be quite the success. The undercarriage of Maddie's stroller was packed with bags from several trendy little shops along 5th Avenue. Kurt had picked out new clothes for all three of the kids, a few new cardigans from Brooks Brothers for Blaine, Marc Jacobs new leather bomber jacket for himself, and more than just a few new lipsticks and eyeshadow pallets from Mac for Mel. 

Before they decided to call it a day with restorative coffee, hot chocolate, and a baby changing station, Kurt insisted on taking a quick look inside Burberry. 

"We won't be here long, I promise," Kurt said as Mel pushed the stroller with a wide awake, but still relatively quiet Maddie. "I just wanna get her dress, she has to have a Burberry dress!"

Mel rolled her eyes fondly, but nodded her agreement. 

"I know we are starting to push our luck with Maddie, I'll be quick." 

While Kurt let Sophie browse around for a few minutes, picking out the perfect dress for her baby sister, Mel walked up to him with a fond grin. 

"So, Soph and I had a little talk at lunch today..." she said quietly, so Sophie wouldn't overhear them. 

Kurt looked up from where he was checking the stitching in a jacket for Liam that he knew was way too expensive for Liam to wear a handful of times and grow out of. "Oh yeah?"

Mel looked down at Maddie staring around her and sucking intently on her pacifier with a content look on her face, her hands fisted up by her face. 

"Yeah, she just wanted to make sure nothing was changing..."

Kurt gave her an odd look but Mel just laughed and kissed his cheek as Sophie walked back over with an excited grin, holding out the dress she had chosen. 

*******

Blaine came home for a quick dinner with his family in between the matinee and evening shows. He wasn’t performing, so his call times were a little more lax, especially on Saturday.

He held Maddie and watched intently as Sophie showed him all their purchases from the day while Kurt and Emma put dinner together in the kitchen and Liam snoozed on the couch in the family room. 

"Papa let me pick out a lot," Sophie said as she showed Blaine the black onesie she had found with a smiling rain cloud on the front and matching cotton pants and blue dress. 

"Ooo, I like that one, Soph...did you pick it out?" he asked, picking up a pink onesie with a big bow on the front.

Sophie nodded with a big grin. 

"Well, she's gonna be the best dressed baby on the block! Just like you and Liam were." Blaine laughed as Kurt walked over and preened. 

Sophie reached over for the bag from Burberry. "This one too! This is so cute, Daddy." 

"You had one almost exactly like that when you were about her size," Kurt laughed, kissing the top of Sophie's head before telling her to pack everything away so they could eat. 

Blaine grinned as he bounced Maddy lightly in his arms. "Yeah, Burberry doesn't do much in the way of changing the classics." 

"Did you keep it?" Sophie asked, looking up from where she was carefully folding clothes and putting them away. 

Blaine nodded as he kissed his baby daughter's head. "It's in your baby box, just like where hers will go when she outgrows it." 

Sophie grinned again and stood up to help her Papa set the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Just like Sophie and Liam, Madeline has her own pinterest board where I put all the pictures and clothes and even room decorations I use as inspiration in this story. You can check it out[here](https://www.pinterest.com/beffone21/madeline-louise/). _
> 
> _Thank you for reading!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole lot can change in just one year...a new house, a new school, a new baby?? Just think of what can change in almost 10 years!?! One thing is for sure--Kurt, Blaine, and their children will never take this walk through life alone. They will always have each other, and the family they surround themselves with.
> 
> _Walk on, walk on...with hope in your heart...and you’ll never walk alone. You’ll never walk alone.-Carousel_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First family trip with baby Maddie...hijinks ensue.

Kurt

Kurt clicked through the last few pages of the American Airlines website just as his husband came down the stairs carrying a full suitcase.

"Liam's all packed," Blaine said, dropping the matching suitcase by the three others Kurt had sitting by the staircase.

Kurt nodded as he motioned for Blaine to walk over and look at his screen. "The seat across from us was still available, so I went ahead and booked it," he said as Blaine stood behind him. "I just think it will be easier to let Maddie have her own seat, even if she's just in her carrier the whole time. Sophie can sit in the one across from us, that way we each have a kid and she can have her own space."

Blaine nodded as he walked back into the kitchen where Kurt had been packing the snack bag. "Did you use some of our miles? We have plenty."

"Yep," he said, standing up and following his husband into the kitchen. "I hate these planes, by the way. They are so small."

Blaine stroked his hand across Kurt's back and shrugged. "I know, I don't like them either. Unfortunately, the big ones don't make small trips to the Cincinnati airport."

Kurt rolled his eyes but nodded as he snagged a granola bar from the snack bag and bit into it. "I think it's high time for everyone to just move here...we are crazy to be flying with a four month old, this is a recipe for disaster."

Blaine chuckled as he kissed the back of Kurt's neck. "The kids look forward to this trip every summer, and leaving Maddie behind was always out of the question...would you rather drive?"

Kurt shuddered and shook his head vehemently. "No way! Never, ever again."

Blaine outright laughed as their nanny, Emma, came down the stairs with two full backpacks and another matching suitcase. "Maddie is down and all packed up, these are the kids' backpacks for the plane," she told them. "Sophie is still packing, but I told her one of you would be up soon. Do you want me to throw the diaper bag together as well?"

Blaine smiled good naturedly and shook his head. "No, that's okay Em, I'll get to that in the morning. If she's down, I guess you're good for the night."

Kurt turned to her and took her hand, his eyes comically wide. "How about we trade places and you take the kids to Ohio and I'll go to Florida for the week with your friends...doesn't that sound nice?"

Emma shook her head and winked as Blaine rolled his eyes behind them. "No deal, but I'll be here when you guys get back, and give you some time off...I promise."

"Kurt, please leave our very hard-working nanny alone to her week off, so we don't lose her to a family that actually gives her vacation time."

Kurt stuck out his tongue at his husband and winked at Emma. "Have a good night, honey. See you in the morning to get these excited hellions wrangled and ready for the trip. Then...you are free."

Emma laughed as she waved, walking toward the stairs down to her separate room.

Kurt groaned as he turned back to Blaine and rubbed his eye with the palm of his hand. "I haven't even started packing yet...and I have that meeting in the morning before we go. I'm never gonna sleep tonight."

Blaine turned off the light and reached out his hand for Kurt to take. "Come on, you get started and I'll go check on Soph, I still have to pack as well."

Kurt groaned again as he grabbed the basket of freshly washed and folded undershirts and underpants of his and Blaine's. "Remind me again why we decided to fly the kids home to Ohio every summer?"

Sophie

"Soph, you wanted turkey, right?"

Sophie looked up from her DS. Her dad was holding out a white box and she nodded, setting down her game and taking her lunch. "Thanks, Daddy."

"You're welcome, honey," he said before turning to Liam to give him his PB&J. She munched on her sandwich as they sat in the middle of the busy airport terminal and waited for their flight to be called.

She watched as her Papa walked back and forth in front of the big windows with Maddie, soothing her. He'd told Daddy he wanted to be feeding her a bottle when they took off but it seemed like her baby sister wanted to eat now. She was just about to say something when next to her, Liam cried out for a wet wipe because his hands were covered in peanut butter and her mind shifted to laughing at him and rolling her eyes.

Maddie finally calmed down enough that Papa could come back and hand her over to Daddy so he could eat his sandwich too They'd all been too busy getting the car packed up to eat, so they were eating once they were all settled at their gate.

Daddy carefully laid Maddie in the stroller car seat in front of where Sophie was sitting, kissing the top of her forehead before he walked back over to where Papa was standing. She sighed as she watched her dads do that thing where they had an argument more with their eyes than with the hushed tones they were using, thinking that she and Liam couldn't tell what they were doing...it never worked. They'd been snapping at each other all morning.

It took a few more pointed looks between the two of them before Papa looked over and realized she was staring at them. He rested his hand on Daddy's arm and gave her a smile before turning back to Blaine to talk softly to him and Sophie looked away again. She turned her attention back to her lunch and had just finished eating when her dads walked over to them.

"They are getting ready to call us, is everyone done eating?" Daddy asked and she nodded, wiping her mouth on a napkin and closing the white box.

Papa turned from checking to make sure Maddie didn't need to be changed one last time. "Liam, there is a trash can right there." He pointed a few chairs away. "Can you be a big helper and get the trash thrown away so we can pack up? Sophie can help you."

Liam nodded and hopped up with Sophie following close behind him. Daddy watched them walk back then held out their backpacks for both of them to slot their arms through while Papa lifted the seat Maddie was snoozing in from its stroller and pushed the button to fold the stroller.

"If you grab the diaper bag, I can get Maddie and the stroller," he said and Daddy nodded.

Thirty minutes later they were on the plane. Sophie could tell her dads were still arguing, even if they weren't saying much to each other...but by that point her mind was occupied with other things.

Because this plane was small and they had never traveled with Maddie before, Liam was sitting next to Papa in one row and Daddy was sitting with Maddie in the row right behind them. Sophie was sitting in the seat across from them, all by herself and next to a window.

She smiled as she watched other people board the plane and kicked her feet a little with all her extra room.

"You sure you're okay over there by yourself, Soph?" Papa asked. Sophie turned to him and grinned with an enthusiastic nod.

"It's no faiiiiir," Liam whined next to him.

Sophie happily tuned him out as she took a stick of gum from Daddy and popped it in her mouth as he finished making Maddie's bottle before stuffing the diaper bag under his seat.

She couldn't play her game during take-off, so she flipped through the book she'd gotten for the trip while the flight attendants closed the doors and helped everyone finish putting their bags away.

Papa attempted to distract Liam with all the fun things they were going to do while they were in Ohio for the week. BBQ's with Grammy and Grampy, swimming at Lola's house, the Fourth of July fireworks at the lake, Kings Island!

Sophie was pretty excited for everything but she loved roller coasters and was most looking forward to going to Kings Island.

Her tummy swooped with excitement as she felt the plane start to move to taxi out to the runway and the pilot came over the intercom to give inflight instructions.

Daddy pulled Maddie from her seat to hold and feed her a bottle and Sophie slipped her book into the pocket in front of her so she could look out the window as the plane took off.

Maddie cried a little, but Daddy shushed and rocked her. She eventually started drinking her bottle again and was asleep by the time the flight attendants started serving drinks to everyone.

Sophie hadn't even noticed she'd fallen asleep until Papa was leaning over her to buckle the seat belt again. He kissed her forehead and smiled before sitting back down across from her. Her dads must have switched spots during the flight as Daddy was up with Liam reading books, and Papa was next to Maddie, trying to hold a pacifier in her crying mouth and talking softly to her as she felt the plane dip a few times before picking up speed to begin landing.

Maddie cried until the plane was on the ground.

As the plane came to a stop at the gate, a flight attendant walked up with a sympathetic smile. "She was a trooper until the very end, huh?"

Papa gave her a tight smile and nodded, still attempting to shush a very loud Maddie.

"We'll let you guys go first, give you a few minutes to get her settled before the crowd sets in."

Daddy thanked her and motioned for her and Liam to stand up and get their bags. Maddie cried until they got into the terminal and Daddy could get the stroller folded out. Papa pulled her out to hold her as they walked.

"Sophie, take Liam's hand and stay as close to the stroller as possible, it's a big airport and I want to be able to see you both at all times."

Sophie nodded. She knew not to mess around when Daddy used that voice and held tight to Liam's hand, her other hand brushing the stroller he was pushing, while Papa walked behind them. Maddie had finally calmed down a little and wasn't crying anymore.

It seemed to take forever for all their luggage to finally come down the belt, but by the time they were walking outside a man was waiting to show them to the van her dads rented. He even helped load everything up in the back while Daddy made sure Maddie's car seat was buckled in properly and both she and Liam were safe in their seats.

Papa sighed as he finally slammed the van door behind him and turned to Daddy behind the wheel. "And that, is why you pay extra for at the gate pick-up."

Daddy laughed and leaned over for a kiss, their argument from earlier seemingly forgotten...until Liam whined that he was hungry and Daddy pulled back to laugh and start the van.

Liam

"Papaaaaa," Liam whined as Kurt held his wiggling arm to reapply his sunscreen for the fourth time that day. He hated this stuff.

"Sorry bud, you have Papa's sensitive and fair skin. We gotta reapply or else you'll burn. In fact, take your life vest off, let's get you back in the swim shirt, covers more skin."

"Noooooo," Liam whined but followed his Papa over to where Grandpa and Lola were sitting in the shade with Maddie. "I hate that shirt, Sophie doesn't have to wear one!"

"Sophie's wearing a suit top and has different skin than you, sorry love."

Liam looked longingly at the pool as Sophie squealed when Uncle Cooper tossed her into the water. He pouted. "Daddy and Uncle Coop don't wear swim shirts!"

"Papa does," Kurt said, pulling the green stretchy shirt over his head. "In fact, as soon as Maddie goes down for her nap, I'm gonna come swim with you and I'll have my swim shirt on, I promise."

Liam groaned again and dropped his head back.

"Liam, if we let your skin burn, it'll hurt and you'll be uncomfortable. Do you want to be hurting when we go to the fireworks tonight?"

Liam shook his head but still pouted as Kurt helped him back into his vest. "Do you need to potty before you go back?"

Liam thought about it for a second, then sighed as he nodded.

Andrew sat up with Liam's towel and stuck out his hand. "I'll take him, Kurt. I gotta go anyway and I could use a popsicle, how 'bout you, buddy?"

Liam nodded enthusiastically and took his Grandpa's hand as Papa sat back down in his chair and smiled to Maddie in Lola's arms.

Andrew wrapped Liam in his towel so he didn't drip all over the house. Ten minutes later Liam and Sophie were sitting by the edge of the pool, slurping on their fruit juice popsicles while Blaine and Cooper took a quick break to rehydrate as well and Lena took Maddie up to the house for her nap.

Later that evening, Liam woke up in Grammy Carole's arms. He looked around bewildered and realized they were at the lake for the fireworks. He stretched and Grammy leaned down to kiss the top of his head. "You wakin' up, sweetie?"

He nodded as he sat up and she rubbed his back. Sophie was sitting in Grampy's lap eating a hot dog and Daddy and Papa were standing a ways away, talking and laughing with some people Liam didn't know.

He felt a little confused. He remembered his dads making him and Sophie get out of the pool and dry off before they showered and got dressed to drive out to the lake. Grampy and Grammy had come over earlier in the day for lunch and they had decided to go out to the lake with them. Lola stayed behind with Maddie who was just baby and might get scared by the loud fireworks. He must have fallen asleep in the van, because he definitely didn't remember getting down to the beach or spreading out the picnic that was now in front of him.

Burt looked over and laughed. "You hungry, bud? Daddy made hotdogs."

Liam nodded as Grampy squeezed his leg and stood up to make him a plate of food.

Kurt and Blaine walked back over to them, hand in hand. "Hey, look who woke up!" Blaine sang as he plopped down on the beach blanket next to Carole. He reached in the cooler for a bottle of water and took a long sip before offering one to Liam.

"Who was that, Blaine?" Burt asked as he handed Liam his plate.

Blaine laughed. "Old students of ours, they both teach at McKinley now. Wild, huh?"

"Will has done some amazing things with that school, are you guys gonna go see him while you're here?" Grammy asked as Liam tuned them out and watched some kids throw a ball around near the water while he ate.

He was just about to ask if he could go play as well when a loud horn bellowed, signaling the fireworks were about to start. He stood up to throw away his plate in the trash bag, then plopped down on the blanket next to Papa and Grampy.

Papa smiled, pulling him into his lap as Daddy and Sophie sat down next to them with Carole and Burt on the next blanket over.

Liam leaned against Kurt's chest as the first of the fireworks lit up the sky with a loud Boom. Papa held him close as they all ooo'ed and ahh'ed at the bright lights shining on their faces.

Liam looked down after a few minutes and saw his dads holding hands between them and Liam snuggled in closer to his Papa, cheering when the grand finale started and the night sky was almost as bright as day with all the fireworks.

Blaine

Blaine woke up to the sounds of Maddie whining from her pack-and-play set up next to the bed in Kurt's childhood room. She'd woken briefly at 7 a. Kurt had gotten up to get the older kids dressed for the hour-long drive Kings Island for the day, but she had gone back to sleep after they left so Blaine did as well, thinking this was as good a time as any to catch a few extra winks of sleep.

He rolled out of bed and leaned over to smile at his youngest baby. "Good morning, short stack. Did you have a nice nap?"

Maddie turned to the sound of his voice and gave him a toothless grin as she kicked her little legs inside her sleeper. He laughed and reached in to pick her up, kissing her cheeks as he did.

He sang to her as he laid her on the bed to change her diaper and into a cute little [dress](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979389754002/) for the day. He suddenly realized he probably should have used the time she was sleeping to shower, since there wasn't anyone around to watch her so he could. Burt and Carole went with Kurt and the kids, it was just the two of them for the day.

He grinned and made goofy faces at his smallest daughter where she was lying in the middle of the bed, kicking her feet and smiling back at him. He grabbed a pair of jeans and t-shirt from his suitcase to hurriedly change into before they headed downstairs for a bottle and bowl of cereal, respectively.

But when he walked into the kitchen, Carole was sitting at the table, sipping a cup of coffee and reading the paper.

"Good morning," Blaine said, more than a little surprise in his voice.

Carole laughed as she held out her arms for Maddie, happily kissing her cheek and snuggling the baby into her arms. "I decided that a day in the hot sun walking around an amusement park was just not my idea of a good time. "Blaine chuckled as he nodded, warming a bottle for Maddie and pouring himself a bowl of cereal. "As much as I love those munchkins, roller coasters aren't really my thing. Burt and Kurt will have a time with the two of them, that's for sure."

"That they will," Blaine agreed, handing over the bottle as Carole led it into Maddie's eager mouth.

"Besides," she added, smiling down as Maddie began to suck in earnest, kicking her feet against Carole's arm. "I needed some quality time with this little one. I can't believe you guys are already leaving tomorrow! I feel like I need a whole other week!"

Blaine smiled at his daughter when she looked over at him, grinning around her bottle before attacking it again and fluttering her eyes a little. "Well, we were just talking about taking a walk to the park this morning, maybe getting an ice cream cone...you are more than welcome to join us."

"That sounds lovely," Carole said, nuzzling the top of Maddie's wispy blonde hair.

Emma

Emma sat on the front steps as she scrolled through her phone and responded to a few text messages.

She only got home from Florida the night before. She'd spent the day preparing for Kurt, Blaine, and the kids to come home that night.

She woke up early and opened the house a little to blow out the staleness. She'd done a little housework then got the grocery shopping done so it was one less thing the guys had to worry about. Liam and Sophie were both attending a summer camp that week, so she knew tomorrow would be a full day for all of them.

Their flight must have been delayed, because it was almost 10 p.m. by the time Blaine had called her, saying they'd landed and were on their way. She'd been waiting on the stoop ever since. She finished a text to her friend Mallory just as the black town car pulled up.

Liam was the first to exit the car, yelling her name as he ran into her open arms.

"Hey Li!" she said, laughing. "Did you have fun?"

"I had soooo much fun, Emma!"

Emma looked up and smiled at Kurt as he sighed gratefully when she offered to take the armful of baby girl he was carrying. Blaine was right behind him, trying to get a very sleepy Sophie to walk herself up the steps to the door.

"If you can get the baby down, I'll get the bags while Blaine handles the older two." Kurt said, hugging Emma tightly when she nodded. "We missed you so much, honey."

Emma winked as she tossed the diaper bag over her shoulder and followed Blaine and the other kids inside.

Maddie was relatively easy to rock to sleep once she'd sucked her entire bottle down. A few choruses of Stay Awake and the child was out like a light.

Emma handed Kurt her baby monitor when they met on the stairs, asking if he wanted her to take Liam's monitor for the night.

"Aww, that's okay," Kurt told her with another grateful smile. "He's actually wide awake and eating toast on our bathroom floor while Blaine showers."

Emma laughed and Kurt shook his head. "He napped almost the entire time our flight was delayed and then most of the time we were in the air. We'll keep him with us until he crashes. Then, if either of us have enough strength, we'll move him to his bed for the night."

Emma nodded again and told Kurt goodnight.

"'Night, sweetie. It's just you and me tomorrow, Blaine's gotta hit the ground running and camp doesn't start until Monday for the older two."

"Welcome home!" She said cheerfully, walking down to her quiet apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole lot can change in just one year…a new house, a new school, a new baby?? Just think of what can change in almost 10 years!?! One thing is for sure–Kurt, Blaine, and their children will never take this walk through life alone. They will always have each other, and the family they surround themselves with.
> 
>  
> 
> _Walk on, walk on…with hope in your heart…and you’ll never walk alone. You’ll never walk alone.-Carousel_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went back and forth several times about concluding Pt 3 with this chapter and moving on to a Part 4 for the last 8 chapters. Technically this is the conclusion of Maddie’s adoption story, but we still have a ways to go before I’m completely done with the story as a whole...so even though it may take me a few weeks to update again, I think I’ll leave Pt 3 open and see where we end up. Thank you for reading and major thank you to @whitesheepcbd for her awesome beta skillz<3

"I just don't understand what the big deal is." Sophie whined as Kurt walked back to the table with his glass of wine. The last few weeks had been getting to him, and he'd been on the phone all day with their adoption attorney, Linda, then Sophie's school. He was worn out, tired, and it was his night to get up with Maddie, who'd been teething all week. "Maddie has been here for months...some stupid piece of paper shouldn't matter." 

Kurt sucked in a deep breath and looked carefully at his eldest daughter. "It does matter, Sophie. It matters a great deal," he attempted to explain. "This is it. This is the road we've all been working toward for months. This is the final step that makes her legally a part of this family, of our family. And then no one can ever take her away from us." 

As the words fell from his mouth, Liam's head snapped up with a distressed look on his face. "Somebody is gonna take Maddie away?" he asked, his voice full of fear and confusion as Blaine sat down next to him. He wrapped his arm around Liam's small frame and shook his head. 

"No, jellybelly," he soothed carefully. "Nobody is gonna take Maddie away from us." 

Kurt gave his son a warm look and nodded his head while smiling. 

Liam seemed to take Blaine's words at face value and picked up his veggie burger to take a bite. He kept a careful eye on his baby sister as he chewed his food and Kurt's conversation with Sophie continued. 

"It's a really important day, monster. And it's important for us to be there as a family."

"Well, it's important to me that I go to my Art Fair. Does what I want not matter?" 

Blaine interrupted quickly. "Of course it matters, Sophie...that's not what we're saying."

"Soph, I already cleared it with your principal and your art teacher, Ms. Duncan. You will be back in plenty of time for us to make it to your Art Fair." 

"No!" Sophie yelped, shaking her head vigorously. "If you miss school, you can't go! Missy Sunders couldn't cheer a few weeks ago cause she missed school. They don't let you!" 

Kurt rubbed his temple, obviously getting frustrated as Blaine attempted to explain.

"Monster, Papa just explained that he talked to your principal alrea-" 

"NO!" Sophie yelled, her voice getting higher and slamming her hands on the table as Kurt shot her a warning look. "I don't want to go, I want to go to school and go to my art show. I worked really hard on my pieces. I'm not going." 

"Sophia!" Kurt threatened, his voice harsher than he meant for it to be as he lost his patience. "What about this aren't you understanding? We aren't going to miss your show. You will be back in plenty of time. I spent an hour on the phone with your teacher and principal today to make sure of it. You are going. We are doing this as a family, and that's that." 

Sophie closed her eyes for a moment. Blaine looked over at Kurt, thinking they may have finally gotten through to her before her eyes shot open again and she stood up, throwing her napkin on the table. 

"I am not a little girl anymore. So please, stop treating me like one!" She cried, all four heads at the table snapped in her direction. Liam's jaw dropped as Maddie started to giggle. "It's my show, it's my school, and I am not missing it. I'm not going, PERIOD!" 

With that, she turned on her heel and marched toward the stairs, turning with her foot on the first step. "And stop calling me monster. It's demeaning." She threw one final scathing glare at her dads and stomped up the stairs. 

The room was quiet for a few moments before Blaine stood up and walked over to his husband. "Hey," he soothed quietly. "It's okay, let her be and she'll cool off." 

Kurt blew out a long breath, straining his neck and biting his lip so the kids wouldn't see him tear up. 

"Yeah...well," he started before stiffening his back and running a careful hand through his hair. "Can you handle dinner from here? I have a few calls I need to make upstairs." 

Blaine was nodding before Kurt even finished his sentence, gently pushing him toward the stairs for some time alone to cool off as well. Sophie may be biologically his, but everything in her stubborn attitude and mannerisms screamed Kurt. Sometimes literally. 

"Don't worry about the dishes," Kurt said as he walked toward the stairs. "I'll get them later after the kids are in bed." 

Blaine nodded again and motioned for him to go on up, he could handle things from here. 

After Kurt was out of sight, Blaine turned back to the table where Maddie was dropping banana chucks off the side of her high chair and giggling at herself. 

"Daddy, why was Papa crying?" Liam asked. 

Blaine sat down with a sigh and looked at his now cold plate of dinner. He started spoon feeding Maddie her peas and offered his son a tired smile. "Papa's just a little frustrated, honey. He'll be okay." 

Liam looked up, a wicked grin crossing his face. "Is it cause Soph's bein' a brat?" 

Blaine shook his head and looked back over at Liam. "Sophie isn't being a brat, she's expressing her feelings and her opinions. That's not being a brat." 

He watched carefully as Maddie moved a bite of food around in her mouth and handed Liam a second napkin. 

"It is when she's yellin' like that, hurts my ears." 

Blaine sighed again and looked back at his son, knowing he didn't have the mental capacity to understand why Sophie's outburst, while disrespectful, was well with her rights as a person with feelings and emotions. He settled for reiterating his previous sentence that Sophie wasn't being a brat, just expressing her opinion and hoped that would be enough for tonight. 

Liam shrugged before pointing to his plate. "I'm done, can I have my yoyo now?" 

Blaine nodded. "Will you please grab a plain one for your sister as well?" 

"Yep," Liam cried happily, hopping over the bench to run to the fridge. He pulled out two containers of yogurt, and a new spoon for himself from the drawer next to the fridge,

"Daddy! Watch how fast I can run!" Liam bellowed as he stretched his leg forward. "I'm the FLASH!!" he cried, before running back to the table. 

Blaine laughed in spite of himself. Liam seemed to have inherited Kurt's flair for the drama, and his own love of superheroes. 

"Hurry and eat though, jellybelly," Blaine told him, laughing at the look Maddie gave him when he switched her over to her slightly sour yogurt. "It's our night to clear the table and you want some time to play in your room before bath time, right?" 

Liam looked over at him with a grin. "Yep," he announced happily. 

An hour later Blaine was lifting a very wet and dripping baby from her bathtub. Emma walked in the room just as Blaine was laying Maddie down on the changing table to pat her dry with a towel.

"I was on my way to get Liam started, but Kurt's already up there. Do you want me to get her finished up?" Emma asked, grabbing a clean sleeper from the closet. 

"That would be great actually. I'll go make her a bottle and be back in a few minutes." 

Emma nodded as they switched places and Blaine made his way to the kitchen. 

He quickly made and started warming a bottle for the baby, while also assembling a PB&J. 

On his way to Sophie's room, he stopped by the nursery. Emma had Maddie snuggled up in her lap while the two of them rocked quietly in the glider, looking through a few picture books. 

Blaine leaned down to kiss the top of Maddie's head before handing Emma the bottle. 

"I gotta go have a chat with the elder lady of the house, would you mind getting her down?"

Emma shook her head with a good-natured smile. Blaine was sure she had heard Sophie's outburst from her apartment downstairs. "No problem, we'll be fine here." 

Blaine could hear Liam's bathwater running from his bedroom as he knocked on Sophie's door, asking if he could come in. 

*****

"Papa, when I get to be a big kid, will I get to take showers, too?" Liam asked as he sloshed around his bathwater, picking up his squid and squirting water into his face with a surprised giggle. 

Kurt looked into the bathroom from where he was loading folded clothes into Liam's dresser and smiled. "You can take showers now, bud...if you want. I thought you liked baths." 

Liam picked up the squirt gun and aimed it at floating toys, making a pew pew pew sound with his mouth before he looked up at Kurt and shook his head. "I do, not now...I meant when I was a big kid." 

Kurt knelt down next to the bathtub and picked up a bottle of shampoo to work into his son's light brown hair. "Oh, when you get to be a big kid, huh?" 

"Yep." Liam picked up his soapy washcloth and draped it over his tummy with another giggle, over-exaggerating the movements of his body while Kurt scrubbed his head with shampoo, making Kurt laugh quietly at him. 

"So, what's Mr. Crab and Mr. Octopus been up to this week?" 

Liam reached over for the two bath toys and knocked them together a few times. "They're fighting."

Kurt gasped slightly. "They are? What happened?" 

Liam nodded as he leaned his head back for Kurt to rinse his hair. "Mr. Crab got in trouble for going outside when his daddies told him not to."

"Uh oh, that's not a good idea...huh?" 

"Nope, he was not making good choices." 

Kurt hid a laugh into his shoulder and composed himself enough to ask, "Why is Mr. Crab fighting with Mr. Octopus, then? "

Liam sighed as he tossed the octopus toy into the water and wiped the water from his face. "Mr. Octopus told him to do it, he was being an insti-istagr-instagrator."

Kurt couldn't hold his laughter in with that one and had to let a small chuckle go. "Instigator, Li," he corrected gently as Liam nodded and repeated the word softly. "But that's not very nice for Mr. Octopus to get Mr. Crab in trouble like that...he wasn't being a very good friend, was he?" 

Liam shook his head as he let Kurt scrub behind his ears and neck with his washcloth. "Nope, that's why he had'ta go in time-out." He set the toy on the corner of the tub with a definite thunk. "That's the rules." 

"We gotta follow the rules, huh?" 

Liam nodded one last time before looking at his fingers and frowning at his Papa. "Time to get out?" 

Kurt nodded as he reached over for a towel as Liam stood up and let his papa wrap him and pull him from the tub. Once the little boy was dry, Kurt pushed him into his bedroom. "I laid your PJ's on the bed, change into them then come back and we'll get your teeth brushed."

Liam nodded as he toddled back into his bedroom with his towel dragging from where it was wrapped around his little body. 

*****

Sophie was sitting on the floor beside her bed when Blaine walked in. "I brought you a sandwich since you stormed away from dinner earlier."

Sophie rolled her eyes and picked up a different colored pencil from the box on the floor next to her. "I'm not hungry." 

Blaine set the plate on her desk and sat in the desk chair. "Well, maybe you will be in a bit." 

Sophie rolled her eyes again but didn't say anything and continued working in the book she had resting on her knees. 

The two were quiet for a few moments before Blaine finally nudged her toe with his. "We gotta talk mon-Soph," he finished when she snapped her head up and glared at him. "Sorry, Sophia." 

Sophie dropped the pencil loudly into the box an stretched her legs out. "I just don't understand why it's such a big deal!" she cried, standing up and walking around her bed. "Did Papa make this big of a deal with me or Liam?"

Blaine nodded and shrugged. "Well, yeah."

Sophie looked up at him. 

"You were born before the laws changed and Papa had to adopt you. It was a different process, and we didn’t actually have to go to the courthouse...but we had to wait a long time for your birth certificate to get to us...you were almost a year old and I can't even tell you how happy we were when we got that piece of paper in the mail."

Sophie looked over at him from where she had plopped down at the head of her bed. 

"This day means a lot to us, Soph," he said, moving over so he was sitting on the bed across from her. "Think of how long Maddie has been here. That's how long Papa and I have been going through this with Ms. Stacy and our lawyer Ms. Linda. And then, in the last month alone our court date has been pushed back three times for three different reasons. Now I'm sorry it's fallen on the day of your Art Fair, but that's why Papa made sure that your teacher knew why you were going to be out, so you can still go and we will all still be at your show to support you. It's important, to all of us, that the whole family be there tomorrow, for Maddie."

Sophie sighed as she slid off her bed and walked over to her closet, her school uniform hanging on the door. She gently ran her hand over the fabric of the red plaid skirt and white button up shirt. "It's just..." She finally trailed off and turned to face her dad. "All the other kids get to wear their t-shirts." 

Blaine stared at her for a full ten seconds, his mind completely blanking on what she could be talking about. 

Sophie rolled her eyes and turned back to her closet. "If you have a game, or a meet...you can wear your team t-shirt to school that day, and you don't have to wear your uniform." 

"Oooohh," Blaine said softly, realization washing over him. 

"The sports teams get to wear their shirts all the time, because they have lots of games. Art club only has two shows, so we only get to wear our shirts two times!" 

Blaine nodded as he bit his lip to hide the smile that would surely set his almost teenage daughter off, he didn't want it to look like he wasn't taking her seriously. 

"It's just not fair that I don't get to...now." 

Blaine composed himself enough to nod. "Well, what about if you wear your t-shirt tomorrow, anyway?" 

Sophie gave him a look. "Yeah right," she scoffed. "I'm sure Papa already has all our outfits picked out and coordinating perfectly." 

Blaine couldn't control his laughter at that, she was absolutely right. He'd already seen the two suits hung up on the back of their closet door, so he was pretty sure Kurt'd picked out the clothes the kids were going to wear as well...but Kurt was also no stranger to change of plans. 

"He'll understand this is important to you, I promise." 

******

Kurt softly pulled Liam's door to almost closed, a basket of dirty laundry on his hip. After his bath and brushing his teeth, it hadn't taken long to get the little boy calmed down enough to fall fast asleep. Two books and a song and Liam was breathing deeply, curled into his stuffed elephant. 

On the landing of Maddie's bedroom he met Emma with her own basket of laundry, smiling that the baby was down and offering to take all the laundry down and get started before she turned in for the night. Kurt smiled and thanked her, heading toward his office where he needed to return a few e-mails and scan some sketches he'd done earlier in the day. 

He walked in and stopped when he saw Sophie sitting quietly at his desk, giving him a small smile. She dropped her head as Kurt walked over to Blaine's desk and sat down in the chair, rolling over slightly to sit next to her. 

"I'm sorry, Papa..." her small voice finally said. "Dad told me I hurt your feelings, I didn't mean to." 

Kurt sighed and pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head. The two sat like that for a few moments until Kurt pulled away and tucked a strand of Sophie's hair behind her ear. 

"You know," he started, as she lifted her head to look him in the eye. "You are way too much like your Papa for your own good."

Sophie huffed out a watery laugh before nodding. 

"We tend to rush to anger and both forget to stop and think about things when we get upset, hurting people without really meaning to."

Sophie nodded again before dropping her head and sniffing. Kurt's heart broke for her as he nudged her chin so she would look at him again. 

"I forgive you, honey...and I'm sorry for losing my temper as well." He stopped before pressing another kiss to her forehead. "How 'bout we both promise to work on that, huh?" 

Sophie nodded before wrapping her arms around his waist and letting him hold her for a few more minutes. 

******

"Give Papa a smile," Kurt cooed, as he snapped picture after picture of [Maddie](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979383096435/) the next morning. "Come on, sweetheart...show me those teeth you've been workin' so hard for all week!" 

Maddie grinned. She looked up from the yellow ring toy she had been gnawing on and reached out her hand to offer her Papa the toy. 

After getting her dressed that morning and overseeing the other kids into their clothes for the day, he left Blaine to help Liam finish up and he took the baby downstairs to the kitchen. He set her down in front of the cabinets to take as many pictures of the day as she would allow. 

"You wanna give Papa your toy?" he asked, laughing. "Will you smile for me?" 

Maddie grinned but pulled the yellow ring back to her mouth just as [Liam](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979382941229/) ran in, stomping on the last step with a wicked three-year-old grin. 

"We ready to go?" 

Kurt smiled over at his son and nodded. "Almost buddy, can you come over here? Help me get your sister to smile?" 

Liam stood behind Kurt. He danced around and sang a silly song, both of them laughing when Maddie finally looked up. She gave them a big toothy smile and Kurt took several pictures of her to commemorate the day. 

Just then, Blaine and [Sophie](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979389856959/) walked in, asking if they were ready to go. 

"Mel and Rachel both texted and they are on their way," Blaine said as he helped Liam into his coat. "And the car is here." 

Kurt bounced Maddie on his hip after he zipped her into her jacket and hat. "Let's go get this one adopted!" 

******

Blaine hummed as he carefully stood up from the rocking chair in Maddie's bedroom. 

Maddie was drowsing in his arms, but not quite asleep yet.

It had been a big, long day, and their house was still filled with people. They had went to Sophie's Art Fair straight from the courthouse, and then back home for a celebratory party with their family and a few close friends. Around 7:30 p.m. Blaine noticed Maddie was starting to get agitated and crabby, so he'd made a bottle and quietly slipped out with the sleepy baby on his hip. 

He sang to her softly while he changed her into a fresh diaper and comfy sleeper. They'd rocked while she sucked her bottle down and he stared into her deep blue eyes. 

Kurt slipped in just as Blaine stood up fully to transfer Maddie to her crib. 

"I saw you sneak out and wanted to say a quick goodnight before she goes down," Kurt whispered as he walked over to where Blaine had Maddie in his arms. Blaine nodded and smiled as Kurt leaned down to press a kiss to the sleepy baby's forehead. "Goodnight Madeline Louise, I love you so much." 

Blaine's heart felt like it was going to burst as Maddie sighed and he laid her down in her bed. She started to whine a little, so he shushed her and patted her back for a few moments, until she settled and started to drift off again. 

Kurt was standing beside him as he straightened up and they both looked down at her for a few more moments, he wrapped his arms around his husband and gave him a quick kiss on the side of his head. "She's all ours, Papa." 

Kurt nodded and bit his lip, before reaching down to lace their fingers together and lead him from the room. 

Once the door was clicked shut and their eyes adjusted to the light of the hallway from Maddie's dark bedroom, Kurt smiled. "So," he began as they started down the stairs to help finish cleaning up. "It really was just the shirt?"

"I swear to god, Kurt, I almost lost it," Blaine said without missing a beat and Kurt started to giggle. "All that and it was about a t-shirt!? That child get's more like you with every passing day." 

"Aww," Kurt said as he swatted Blaine's butt on the way down the stairs. "You love it!"

Blaine winked as they walked into the kitchen and back to the hustle and bustle for the rest of the evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole lot can change in just one year…a new house, a new school, a new baby?? Just think of what can change in almost 10 years!?! One thing is for sure–Kurt, Blaine, and their children will never take this walk through life alone. They will always have each other, and the family they surround themselves with.
> 
> _Walk on, walk on…with hope in your heart…and you’ll never walk alone. You’ll never walk alone.-Carousel_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for sickness and a child in the hospital.

It all started with Billy Marks in Maddie's toddler music and movement class. No matter how much Kurt tried to keep Maddie away from his runny nose and sneezing during the class, the next evening she was down with a pretty nasty flu. 

Kurt, who had been in the class as well and up all night with her, was bedridden the next morning.

The day after that, Emma, their wonderful nanny, was down with a fever and chills...with Liam complaining of his tummy hurting as Blaine was putting him to bed that night. 

Blaine was cursing Billy Marks' name by the weekend. Everyone in the house, except Sophie and himself, was in bed with fevers that only broke long enough to build back up, chills that made Liam and Maddie's entire little bodies shake, and nobody was able to keep anything on their stomachs. 

Saturday morning, after a home visit from their pediatrician, Emma's mother drove in from New Jersey to pick her up and let her recover at home for a few days. Blaine sent her on her way with wishes to get better and to take as much time as she needed. 

He closed the garden door with a sigh and turned to find Sophie at the table, grinning. "Put me in, Coach!" 

Blaine shook his head with quiet laughter. "You stay down here, honey. If we can prevent you from getting sick it'll be a miracle, but we're still gonna try." 

Sophie pouted as she sat back down and nodded. "I can make tea with the electric kettle!" She cried, smiling when Blaine nodded and pressed a short kiss on the top of her head before washing his hands. 

"That'd be a great help, honey. You know how Papa likes it, and I'll be back in a few minutes. I just gotta check on Maddie and Liam." 

*****

"Hey sniffles," Blaine sang quietly when he walked into their bedroom a little while later with the tea Sophie had made. "How you doin' in here?"

Kurt groaned from where he was lying in bed, the comforter pulled over his head to shield the world from his awful bedhead. 

Blaine would have laughed at him if he'd had any energy left from the week. Thankfully, Maddie seemed to be feeling a little better. No fever since the night before and she was even playing quietly with Sophie downstairs after she had woken from her morning nap. Sophie had strict instructions to keep her hands clean and away from Maddie's mouth and nose.

Blaine knew it was a lost cause. 

Short of sending Sophie away, she was probably going to catch whatever the rest of their family had. Blaine just prayed it was a few days away, so he could get Liam and Kurt better first. 

Besides, where would he send her? Rachel and Sam had Nick, they couldn't and wouldn't expose him to anything. Mel was in Europe, touring a book project. They had other friends, but none that Blaine would trust with their daughter for a long period of time. She was stuck with him until everyone was well, or they were both sick. For not the first time over the last ten years, he wished they had family a little closer. 

"Your daughter made you some tea to make you feel better," Blaine said, setting the mug on the bedside table with a soft clunk and a quick kiss to Kurt's exposed forehead. He was clammy and kind of sweaty, but thankfully felt relatively cool. "No fever, huh?" 

Kurt shook his head as he peeked his eyes out from under the blanket and attempted to sit up a little. "It broke a while ago. I still feel like death warmed up, though. Will you tell Soph that I drank my tea? My stomach's still a little too fussy to try it." 

Blaine nodded as he helped Kurt sit up. "If your fever broke, let's get you into a bath. I'll change the sheets while you soak. Some new pajamas and clean sheets, maybe you'll feel a little better?"

Kurt grumbled and weakly pushed Blaine's hands away where he was trying to pull Kurt's sleep shirt over his head. "I can do it, jeeze." 

Blaine backed off a little but kept his hands close. "Yeah, and you'll pass out on your way." 

Kurt scoffed and attempted to stand up, suddenly hit by a dizzy spell as he fell into Blaine a little. 

"See!" Blaine chastised. "Would you just let me help you? It's kinda what I'm here for." 

Kurt grumbled the whole way to their bathroom, groaning as Blaine helped him sit on the edge of the tub while he ran the water and closed the door behind them. 

"Look we even have a eucalyptus and lavender bath bomb, this should help too." 

Kurt nodded but grumbled some more while Blaine helped him out of his clothes and into the deep tub, the fragrant water coming up well over his chest. 

Blaine rolled his eyes as Kurt sank into the water with a sigh. "You and Liam are the worst patients ever, but even he doesn’t grumble as much as you do," he said, sticking out his tongue playfully. 

Kurt ignored him for a few moments, soaking up the warm water and soothing bath bomb, before his brain finally caught up to what Blaine had said and he sat up a little. "Liam's down now, too?" 

Blaine stared at his husband for almost a full 20 seconds before he shook his head with a small chuckle. "The last few days have been a bit of a blur, huh?" 

Kurt groaned as he laid back and nodded slightly. "How is he? I'm guessing if Soph is making tea, she's not sick yet?" 

"Liam's still in the thick of it. He was running a fever when Dr. Foreman was here this morning to check on them. She gave him some flu medicine but said he would be okay in the next day or so. Maddie is doing better, and no, Soph isn't sick...yet." 

"What about Emma? How's Emma?" Kurt asked, as Blaine grabbed a clean set of pajamas from their connected closet and set them on the sink. 

"Emma's still pretty sick," Blaine said as Kurt closed his eyes with a sigh. "Her mom came and got her this morning to take her to their doctor, and then back home with her for the next few days, not that I can blame her. If it were one of the kids I would want to do the same thing." 

Kurt nodded from where his head was resting on the side of the tub, his eyes closed as he moved the water around and took a few deep breaths to fill his lungs. "Me too, but Maddie is doing better?" 

Blaine smiled as he opened the bathroom door and walked toward their bedroom to strip and remake their bed. "Yeah, she's downstairs with Soph now, eating some Cheerios and drinking juice." 

"Good..." Kurt trailed off, relaxing against the side of the tub again. 

Blaine finished making the bed with fresh sheets and walked into the bathroom, letting out a tired laugh when he found Kurt fast asleep again, still soaking. 

"Hey sleepy," he said, Kurt jerking awake with an apologetic look for his husband. "Let's get your hair washed and then back to bed."

Kurt nodded and let Blaine scrub his head and rinse his hair with the handheld without complaint, even leaning into the touch a little. Blaine smiled and finally pulled the drain on the tub before helping his husband get out and dry off. 

Once Kurt was dressed, Blaine sat him on the closed toilet seat and rubbed some good mentholated lotion into his arms, legs and chest before pulling a fresh shirt over Kurt's head. 

"Who's takin' care of you if you're taking care of all of us?" 

Blaine shrugged and helped him stand up. "Let's just get you guys well, I still gotta go give Liam his medicine and get him to take a bath as well." 

Kurt laid back against the cool clean sheets and let Blaine tuck him in. "I'll take care of you, sexy..." He trailed off as Blaine bit his lip to keep from laughing. 

"Just sleep my love. I'll be back in a little while with meds and fluids." 

Kurt hummed as Blaine closed their door with a soft click. He sleepily opened one eye when he heard Blaine's footsteps going upstairs to their son's room. 

He reached over for his phone and made a quick call, then slept soundly until a small "Papa..." woke him. 

Liam was standing by the side of his bed, his hair damp and dressed in fresh pajamas with his stuffed elephant tucked into his arm. 

"Can I sleep with you?" he asked, his voice hoarse from coughing and his eyes brimming with unshed tears. "I don't feel good and don't wanna sleep in my bed 'nemore." 

Kurt nodded as he scooted over to let Liam climb up, covering them both with the comforter and drifting back to sleep with Liam curled up next to him. 

******

Blaine had just gotten Maddie down for the night and collapsed on the living room couch behind Sophie, who was playing a video game, when he heard knocking on the door. 

He lifted his head and looked at his daughter, scrunching his face. "Did I already order that pizza for our dinner and just forget?" 

Sophie turned around with a grin and shook her head. "Nope." She paused her game and stood up to follow him to the door.

"GRAMPY AND GRAM!" she cried when Blaine opened the door to Burt and Carole's smiling faces on the porch. Sophie launched herself into Burt's arms as Carole leaned over to nuzzle her cheek in hello.

"Kurt called in the reinforcements, we took the first flight we could get on." 

Blaine looked like a deer in the headlights as he finally stood aside to let them in. 

"You in shock, sweetie?" Carole asked with a laugh as she pulled in their suitcases and Burt set Sophie down on her feet, who was talking a mile a minute. 

"I guess, yeah...I didn't even know you guys were coming. He must have called you in a fever haze, and then forgot to tell me." 

Carole chuckled as she patted his cheek and winked. "You look about ready to pass out as well, have either of you eaten?" 

Both Sophie and Blaine turned to her and shook their heads in a comically similar way. 

"Well, let's get some food in your bellies while Burt goes and checks on the patients." Burt nodded as Blaine told him he just put Maddie to bed and Liam was still in bed with Kurt, but both of them were fast asleep when he checked on them not twenty minutes ago. 

Sunday morning passed much the same, although Kurt was able to actually get up and eat lunch at the table with the family while Liam napped upstairs, still not feeling all that great. Kurt joined him soon after to keep resting and Sophie kept Maddie entertained with Carole while Blaine caught up on some rest as well. 

By dinnertime, Carole had slow cooked a big roast for vegetable soup. Kurt and Liam were both sitting up and eating, Kurt fully on the mend and Liam just hungry enough to eat a little bowl of soup before falling fast asleep again in Burt's arms. 

******

Kurt sighed as he showered on his own on Monday morning. He was still a little weak, but hadn't had a fever for over 24 hours and had successfully eaten all the day before. He wasn't going back into work, but he was well enough to share some of the house responsibilities with his husband again, and even wear actual clothes besides just a robe thrown over his pajamas. 

Liam and Burt were curled up on the family room couch when Kurt walked in a little while later. 

"Where is everybody?" he asked, laying his palm on Liam's cool forehead. 

Burt pointed to Maddie's baby monitor. He told him Carole was upstairs with Sophie and Blaine was down in the laundry room. Kurt nodded as he finished making himself a cup of tea to sip instead of his usual coffee. He turned when he heard Blaine on the stairs, coming up with a basket of clean sheets and towels for the kids. 

"Hey you," Blaine beamed. "It's good to see you up and moving...just make sure not to push it too hard for the next day or so."

Kurt rolled his eyes playfully but nodded as he accepted the chaste kiss on his cheek from his husband and followed him over to the dining area.

"Welp, third one down..." Carole announced, as she walked into the kitchen where Kurt and Blaine were folding laundry together at the table. Both groaned. 

"Oh no...Sophie?" 

Carole nodded as she walked over to the kitchen sink to wash her hands. "Fever, chills, and an upset tummy. No cough yet, though." 

Kurt motioned for Blaine to stay, that he would go check on her, but Carole pushed him back down to his chair. "Let Grammy take this one, I'm just gonna take her some meds and fluids for now, let her sleep it off for a while." 

Kurt nodded and turned back to the basket of clean laundry as Blaine sighed across the table from him. 

"I really though she had dodged it," he said. "She got through the whole week feeling fine. I thought she would've been down before now."

Kurt shrugged as he drained the last of his tea and stood up. "Kids are a mystery sweetie," he said, kissing the top of Blaine's head. "I hear Maddie, I'll go get her."

Blaine nodded and lifted the basket of now folded laundry to put away. 

By early afternoon, something wasn’t sitting right with either Kurt or Blaine. Sophie seemed to be more in pain, than her stomach just being upset, as well as the high fever. 

Blaine assured his husband that this was how they all started out, but still...neither of them felt comfortable leaving her alone for long. Kurt moved her to their bed and kept careful watch over her. He had just decided to go ahead and take her to the ER, for IV fluids if nothing else, when he found her on the floor of the bathroom, crying out for him. 

He screamed for Blaine to call 911. 

*****

Kurt carefully held Sophie's warm hand in his own, stroking her fingers softly, as he stared at her sleeping face in the hospital bed. He sniffed as two tears fell down his cheeks and he kissed her hand again. He looked over and met his eyes with Blaine, who was sitting at her other side petting the hair away from her face. 

_She's fine,_ he told himself for the hundredth time since the doctor had come to get them, over an hour ago. _She's responding to the antibiotics and will wake up soon._  
  
Appendicitis. 

That's what the paramedics had told them when they loaded her onto the stretcher and hurried to carry her from the house, both Kurt and Blaine looking on as complete strangers maneuvered their baby with much less care than they would have given her. Kurt wrung his hands and made himself stay back so they could do their job. 

Kurt and Blaine hurried into the cab Burt had held for them and followed the wailing ambulance that was rushing to the hospital with their daughter. 

She was taken right into surgery with just a few hopeful words for her dads before they had to sit and wait for more news. As if they hadn't already been scared enough, it seemed that her appendix ruptured while on the table.

Luckily, they had gotten her on the antibiotics right away and while she would probably be on a heavy antibiotic for at least a week, and would be stuck in the hospital until then, she'd gotten through the surgery without any other complications. 

When they first got back to her recovery room, she had been moaning and trying to wake up, tears leaking from her closed eyes, only calming down when Blaine walked over and soothed her back to sleep, singing softly and petting her hair. 

After another hour or so, a nurse had come in and told them she would probably be sleepy and disoriented for a while longer, they could go get some rest or make their phone calls if they wanted...but neither wanted to leave her side until she was fully awake. 

Kurt's heart broke all over again twenty minutes later when she moaned and called out for them, her eyes still closed as she tried to roll over and cried out in pain that her stomach hurt. 

"I know baby, I know it hurts..." Kurt trailed off, trying to soothe her back to sleep again. This time, though, she finally opened her eyes and whimpered. Blaine pushed the button to call the nurse as he stood up and leaned over to kiss her forehead. 

"Hey honey, try not to move too much, okay?" 

"Thirsty?" she asked, her voice scratchy and pitched so low they almost didn't hear her. 

The nurse walked in just as Kurt looked over and she nodded. "You can have some water, Sophia. But tiny little sips, okay?" 

Sophie nodded as Blaine held up the cup and guided the straw to her mouth. Kurt rounded the bed to stand next to his husband, as the nurse started checking Sophie over. 

"Where does it hurt, sweetie?" the nurse asked. 

Sophie laid back against her pillow and closed her eyes again. "My tummy." 

"Like a pain, or like you feel like you might throw up?" 

She opened her eyes at that and nodded again. "Throw up," she mumbled. "N m' head hurts." 

Blaine leaned over and resumed petting her hair away from her face, holding tight to Kurt with his other hand. 

"Your tummy hurts from the antibiotic we have you on, it's pretty strong. Little sips of water will help but if you feel like you need to throw up, tell your dads and they'll give you the basin, okay?" 

Sophie nodded again before her eyes closed and she slipped back to sleep. The nurse gave them both an encouraging look and pulled the sheet back up from where she had been checking the little girl's incisions. 

"Sleep's the best thing for her right now," she said softly, smiling at them. "She's responsive and coherent when she's awake. Her fever is still a concern, but the meds will help with that. We'll need to keep her in ICU until her fever goes back to normal, but we'll keep a close eye on her, okay?" 

Both men nodded as she made a few notes on Sophie's chart and quietly left the room. Kurt stayed next to Blaine for a few moments and rested his head on the back of Blaine's shoulder, taking deep calming breaths, both of them squeezing their joined hands. Finally Blaine turned and enveloped Kurt in his arms, whispering "she's okay, she's gonna be okay" over and over as Kurt nodded. 

After Kurt finally pulled away, Blaine brushed his knuckles under Kurt's eyes and softly kissed his lips. "I think I am gonna go make those phone calls," he said as Kurt nodded again. "I texted everyone when she was out of surgery, but promised to let them know when she woke up." 

Kurt sat down in Blaine's vacated chair and picked up her hand again, holding it carefully in his own as he hummed her song over and over again while she slept. 

******

Sophie was in the hospital eleven days total, and even when she was sent home she was on strict instructions to take it easy. Both of her incision sites had gotten infected, but the doctors told her dads that with the rupture, that wasn't uncommon. 

Kurt and Blaine took turns staying home with her. Blaine was in between projects and Kurt felt uneasy when he left for long periods of time, even with how busy he was. One of them was always around for her, no matter what. 

It finally took Sophie throwing an outright tantrum that she was ready to go back to school, just to get away from their hovering. 

Kurt insisted on keeping her home the rest of the week and over the weekend, but then conceded that she could go back to school on Monday...if she promised to take it slow and call them if she needed to rest. 

Sophie left the kitchen with an eye-roll, insisting she was fine and they both needed to get a grip. 

Later that night, after the rest of the house was tucked into their beds, Kurt stood at their bathroom vanity, rubbing serum into the skin under his tired eyes while Blaine waited up for him in bed. 

"You know what I realized today?" Kurt asked, walking back into the bedroom and closing their door. 

Blaine looked up from the music he was reading, his black rimmed reading glasses perched on his nose. "Hmm?" 

Kurt slipped into bed and opened his tablet to read, then closed it almost immediately. "I realized...she's not a baby anymore."

Blaine took his glasses off, his brow furrowed as he set the glasses on his nightstand. "Sophie?"

Kurt nodded and sighed. "I mean...realistically she hasn't been a baby for years, but I think I finally realized today that she's growing up. She'll be 10 this year...how is that even possible?" 

Blaine chuckled as he folded up his work and dropped it carefully on the rug-covered floor. He reached over and nudged Kurt until they were curled up next to each other. "I know what you mean...I was tucking her in the other night and asked if she wanted me to sing to her. She looked at me like I had grown a few new heads. I haven't said goodnight to her like that in almost a year, and I completely forgot." 

Kurt hummed out a small laugh as he cuddled closer into Blaine's chest. "Mel called me today," he said softly. "She said Soph texted her to complain about us...said it's starting." 

Blaine chuckled and nodded again. "We knew this day would come sooner or later...pretty soon she'll be a pre-teen, then a teenager!" 

"Oh man," Kurt groaned. "If you had told me when I was cleaning finger paint off the wall of the loft when she was two years old, that someday I would long to have those days back...I probably would have punched you in the nose."

Blaine laughed as he reached over to switch off the lamp. "She'll always be our little monster...no matter how old she gets."

Kurt nodded once more, before he was lulled to sleep by the sound of his husband's heartbeat under his ear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole lot can change in just one year…a new house, a new school, a new baby? Just think of what can change in almost 10 years!? One thing is for sure–Kurt, Blaine, and their children will never take this walk through life alone. They will always have each other, and the family they surround themselves with.
> 
> _Walk on, walk on…with hope in your heart…and you'll never walk alone. You'll never walk alone.-Carousel_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so so so (add about 10 more sos in there) for the long wait between updates. The good news, is I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm working to get everything written so there shouldn't be any more long waits between updates. The bad news...I see the light at the end of the tunnel and that means we are almost done (insert ugly crying here).

Blaine sang softly as he rocked back and forth with Madeline drowsing in his arms. 

When Maddie was 2 and a half years old, he and Kurt took down her crib and put her big kid bed together...but even six months later, she was still having trouble falling asleep by herself in it. So they read books, they rocked in her rocking chair, and they sang softly until she was sleepy enough to move to her bed and sleep by herself. 

Finally, she seemed to be at the place where Blaine could lay her down, singing softly until she was fast asleep in her bed. 

They'd had a long morning for the little girl. Blaine had taken her with him while he ran some normal weekday morning errands, then took her to the park to enjoy the early spring day. He let her walk down the path for a while, holding her hand before stopping to watch a busker. He sent the video of her dancing along to Kurt before putting her back in her stroller to walk home. 

When she nearly fell asleep in the pasta Emma made for her lunch, Blaine took her upstairs for a nap. 

He checked his phone as he walked downstairs and into the living room to his piano. His agent had sent him an e-mail telling him he needed to make a decision and soon, he needed to sign the contract before Friday if he was going to sign it. 

He sighed as he sat down at his piano and started playing an aria from Carmen. 

A few months ago, Blaine'd had a few guest spots on an NY based political dramatic television show. The show itself was failing, but Netflix had stepped in, bought the rights and was now in the early stages of developing a spin-off specifically for Netflix. He was approached last month by the director, saying they wanted him for one of the title roles...however it was being shot mostly on location in Denver, Colorado and he would need to move there for 4-6 months that summer and into fall. He was a big enough name in the Broadway community and they wanted him badly enough that his agent had been able to broker a pretty amazing deal, including travel for him and his family to and from NY more than just a handful of times. 

He'd told Kurt about it as soon as he walked out of the meeting. They had talked it over for a long time, and even though Kurt told him he would support him no matter what, Blaine was still unsure about the whole situation. 

He segued from the aria into a Vivaldi and closed his eyes, his practiced fingers moving over the keys as he played. As he sat there, a memory came back to him...one he hadn't thought about in years. 

_"There's no one else..." But the rest of what he was going to say was cut off as he closed the distance between them and finally got his lips back on the love of his life, without some creeper staring at them, without the pain and fear of what comes next...just pure unadulterated love flowing from both of them as he held Kurt in his arms and kissed him like he'd been wanting to kiss him for six long months._

_The tiny moan at the back of Kurt's throat while he kissed him was all the go-ahead Blaine needed and they pushed and pulled themselves into the bedroom and onto the bed._

_It was dark outside by the time they laid still enough to catch their breath. Kurt was curled into him, his head resting on his chest and his arm slung tight across Blaine's waist, petting his thumb back and fourth across Blaine's bottom rib._

_Blaine leaned down to press his lips against the top of Kurt's head and to breathe him in. He smelled like Kurt. Like the coconut conditioner he used, the fresh scent of his moisturizer, the harshness of his hairspray, the woodiness of his cologne...all mixed with the natural scent of him and one breath of it made Blaine feel more at home in this apartment than two months of living here._

_Kurt had been quiet for a long time, holding on to Blaine like he was afraid he would slip from his fingers. Blaine could tell he was working himself up to something. His breathing had gotten harsher and he'd started sniffing. Blaine pushed his hair back gently and leaned down to kiss his forehead, wrapping his arm even tighter around Kurt's shoulder._

_"I always loved when you let me hold you," he said softly, kissing his forehead again. "I've missed you, I've missed this."_

_Kurt nuzzled into his chest and nodded. "I missed you too...I should've let you do it more often."_

_Blaine was about to disagree, tell him it didn't matter and that they both needed to let go of what had happened when he felt Kurt take a deep breath and shift. He moved his arm across Blaine's chest and rested his chin on the back of his own hand so he could look him in the eye._

_"I'm so sorry, Blaine. I know I've already said all this...but, I'm so, so sorry that I hurt you like that."_

_Blaine nodded and reached up to gently run his fingers through the hair that had flopped down on Kurt's forehead. Kurt shook his head and squeezed his eyes closed. "I was so scared."_

_"Scared of what, baby?" Blaine whispered as Kurt shuddered with keeping his emotions in check._

_"Scared of..." He shrugged and laid his head down on Blaine's chest again, spreading his palm across his chest to feel Blaine's heart thumping against it. "Everything. Of everyone being right...that we were too young, that we were too similar, that love wasn't enough...that I wasn't enough."_

_A lump formed in Blaine's throat. He swallowed and managed to eek out, "And you're not anymore?"_

_Kurt shook his head. "No. I'm still terrified..." He paused and looked back up at Blaine, his eyes filling with unshed tears. "But I'm more scared of not being with you."_

_"Kurt," Blaine whispered as he pulled him up enough to meet their lips together again. After a few moments, Kurt pulled away and rested his forehead against Blaine's._

_"I need you to know, that the day I said yes to you on that staircase..." Blaine nodded and pressed his lips together to keep from crying. "No matter what else...I meant it with all of my heart." Blaine huffed out a tiny sob and nodded again, their foreheads still resting against one another and Kurt pressed a small kiss against his lips. "You are the love of my life, and I promise never to forget that again."_

_"You're mine, too."_

_Kurt buried his face into Blaine's neck and Blaine wrapped his arms around him._

"Hey-" Kurt called and startled Blaine from his memory. He laughed when he saw what must have been the shocked look on Blaine's face. "Whatcha' thinkin' about?" 

Blaine shook his head and grinned as Kurt rounded the piano and sat down next to him on the bench. "You." 

Kurt smiled. "Ooooo, good thoughts?" 

Blaine nodded as he wrapped his arm around Kurt's waist and petted a finger over his hip. 

"I got home and heard you playing so I came up here, but then you stopped and I got worried. You were just staring off into space." 

Blaine sighed and laid his head on Kurt's shoulder. "I was thinking about Colorado...and then I, I don't know--I started remembering the day you showed up at that apartment in Lima?" 

Kurt groaned as he plunked out a few keys on the piano. "I was so nervous that day." 

Blaine laughed into Kurt's shoulder. "You were? I had no idea." 

Kurt nudged him back and shook his head. "Shush you," he said, and Blaine laughed again. "You were used to the big romantic gestures, I had less practice with them...plus I had ran all the way there and was sweaty and gross." 

"Mmmm, I like you sweaty and gross..." Blaine whispered wickedly into Kurt's shoulder. 

"You are such an old perv!" Kurt laughed, moving his head so Blaine couldn't kiss him until they were both laughing. 

"I'm only pervy for you, baby." 

"Oh god..." Kurt rolled his eyes but smiled as he let Blaine wrap him up and kiss him for a while. 

"So..." Kurt started, after they had stopped kissing and he was watching Blaine gently move his fingers across the keys, playing something small and soft. "You said you were thinking about Colorado?" 

Blaine nodded but didn't stop playing. "I still haven't made up my mind." 

Kurt rested his chin on Blaine's shoulder. "Why not? What's holding you back?" Blaine turned his head to glare at his husband and Kurt sat back with a chuckle, holding his hands up in surrender. "Besides the obvious, of course. We've talked about this...we both like the script, a little weird, but has a lot of potential. I think it's a good idea and I said I would support you in whatever you decided to do." 

"I know..." Blaine sighed. "But it's more than just—" he stopped playing and set his hands on his thighs. Kurt turned toward him and placed his hand on the small of his back. "You didn't go to Paris." 

Kurt looked bewildered for moment before realization dawned on his face and he shook his head. "That was a totally different situation, Blaine." Blaine moved to argue but Kurt kept talking over him. "No, it was and you know it was. The kids were still little, and we were really just getting started...plus it was Paris for an undetermined amount of time, halfway around the world. Not Colorado for five months at the most. You can come home on weekends, and maybe the kids and I can fly out to you once or twice." 

Blaine shook his head again. "It's still being away from home for very long periods of time...on something I'm not entirely convinced I want to pursue. And Maddie is still pretty little," he argued. 

Kurt turned so he had one leg on each side of the piano bench and took one of Blaine's hands in his. "Look, am I saying it's not going to be hard and I'm not going to miss you? No. I'm going to miss you like crazy and I'm sure things will get pretty complicated around here for a while. But we have a full time nanny and I can work from home 80% of the time if I need to. The kids and I will be covered. They only want you to sign a one year contract, so if you absolutely hate it, you can always come back...and then you'll know that kind of acting isn't for you. 

"I don't regret giving up Paris," Kurt said after a few moments of quiet had passed. "It was the right decision at the time and if I had to make the decision again, I would do the exact same thing...but there is still a small part of me that wonders what would have happened if I had taken it, and I don't want that for you when I know this is something we can do, together. Get through, together."

Blaine nodded as he continued to let his husband hold him for a few minutes, sinking into Kurt's frame as he weighed the pros and cons in his head once more, still trying to make the decision that would be best for everyone involved. 

Six Months Later

Blaine checked his watch and took a sip from his bottle of cold tea. They had been setting up this scene for over an hour and he really wanted to knock it out so he could get back to his rental. He was tired, hungry, and he had a Skype call with the kids and Kurt at 5:00 that he didn't want to miss. 

He sighed as someone from make-up came over and told him they should be ready in a few minutes so she should do his touch-ups. He set down the sides he'd been looking at and closed his eyes while she got to work. 

Working on a television show was much different from working on the stage. It had taken him a while to get used to the slower pace. He felt like he sat around and watched more than he did anything else, but he enjoyed his fellow actors and got along with the director so he didn't have many complaints...other than he missed his husband terribly and he felt a hole in his heart where his kids were. 

The past five months had been harder than anyone had anticipated. Blaine felt so far removed from the everyday life of his family. He found out about things after the fact more often than not, he could tell his husband was stressed...plus, they were both worried about the conference they had with Maddie's preschool teacher in a few days, Blaine being spliced in on Skype since he couldn't fly home until next Friday night. 

Luckily they were in the home stretch, just a few more weeks and season 1 would be wrapped and he could go home. 

Make-up finally pronounced him done and his director was calling him to his mark. If they could get this wrapped up soon he could get back to the place that didn't quite feel like home, but did have a nice big bed, and talk to his kids for awhile. Then maybe everything would feel a little bit better. 

****** 

"Sophie!" Kurt called into the family room. "Will you get the TV set up for me, honey? Daddy said he would call at 7:00 and it's almost ten till." 

"Yep!" 

Maddie coughed pitifully against his shoulder and whined as she rubbed her nose into his shirt. "I know baby, I'm sorry," he cooed at her, kissing her warm forehead as he finished making her a cup of juice and Pedialyte. She'd barely eaten any dinner and he needed to restore some of her electrolytes. 

He glanced at the clock and wondered what could be keeping Emma and Liam when he heard the garden door open and Emma's stern voice. "Shoes off and don't touch anything, Liam Devon." 

He looked up and gasped. Liam was covered from head to toe in dried mud, a giant smile on his face with Emma behind him trying to make sure he didn't get more on the floor from his pants. "What in the—" he stopped himself and Emma gave him a commiserating look. 

"Coach let us play in the rain! Said it was practice for when we get to be big kids!" 

"We are headed for the showers," Emma told him, both of them sharing a look that she would explain later. "Don't look in the hall until I can get a broom and mop in there," she warned him. 

"Blaine is getting ready to call to say goodnight to the kids, so come back down when you're done." 

Liam turned and ran right into Emma, covering her with dirt and mud as well. "Daddy!!" 

Emma looked down and sighed but pushed him toward the stairs. Kurt winced and promised Liam he would keep Blaine on the phone until he was finished with his shower. "And no bath, Liam. You are too dirty and need a shower." 

"Everything's ready, Papa." Kurt turned around and mustered a smile for Sophie. 

"Thank you, honey." He passed Maddie over to her. "Will you take your sister and sit in there until he calls? You know how to accept it, right?" 

Sophie rolled her eyes and nodded, taking Maddie into her arms and walking into the living room. She sat them both on the floor in front of the TV with a few of Maddie's toys. 

Kurt took several deep breaths and forced himself to calm down. He pushed his limp hair from his face and looked around for his glass of water. He had snot on his shirt, hadn't showered yet today, and was so tired his eyes were red and puffy like he'd been crying. Not exactly what he wanted his husband to see after almost two weeks, but it would have to do. He felt his phone in his pocket and remembered the fifteen e-mails he hadn't gotten to today.

Neither of them had been quite prepared for what it would mean for Blaine to be on the other side of the country for weeks at a time. The kids missed him, and even with all the help from their wonderful nanny, she was still an employee. Kurt missed having the second parent around and how much it affected their day-to-day life...he sighed one more time and shook his head. Blaine would be home in a week, he could hang on for another week. 

"He's calling!" Sophie cried, aiming the remote at the TV and squealing when Blaine's face filled the screen. "Hi Daddy!!" 

"Dada!" Maddie cried and smiled, pointing to the screen and standing up. 

"How are my beautiful girls?" Blaine's voice rang out. "Oh no, is Maddie still sick?" 

Kurt walked in behind them and sat on the coffee table, nodding. "Yeah, we paid a visit to Dr. Foreman today but she said it's just a nasty cold. She's been sleeping mostly." 

"Poor baby," Blaine said as Maddie reached out her arms for Blaine to hold her. "Did she give her anything?" 

Kurt shook his head as he pulled Maddie into his arms. She'd walked over when she realized Dada couldn't pick her up. "No, just said to let it run its course and push fluids. Baby Motrin if she was too uncomfortable." 

Blaine shared a sympathetic look with Kurt before turning to Sophie. "And how are you Miss Sophia? I miss you." 

"I miss you too, Daddy! When are you coming home?" 

"I'll be home next weekend, honey." 

Kurt sighed as he held Maddie against him and listened to Sophie and Blaine talk about her week and Maddie. Liam came in twenty minutes later and babbled on about his soccer practice and playing in the mud. 

Emma waved to Blaine but told Kurt she needed a shower herself before bedtime. 

Maddie started falling asleep against Kurt's shoulder not ten minutes later, so he told them he was taking her upstairs. 

"Goodnight, bean!" Blaine called, blowing a kiss. "Dada loves you!" 

Maddie looked up but whined and laid her head against Kurt again. Kurt waved and asked Sophie to keep an eye on Liam until Emma came back upstairs. 

******

By Friday of that week, Maddie was well enough for Kurt to send her off to school with Emma and Liam for their normal morning routine. Kurt spent the morning working in his studio. He set several alarms to remind himself that he needed to be at the kids' school by 11:00 am for the parent meeting with Maddie's teacher.

He sent two texts on his walk to the subway. One to Blaine reminding him of the time so he would be ready on Skype. The other he sent to Emma, telling her he would bring Maddie home after the meeting so she didn't need to worry about picking her up. All of a sudden he was at the school, waiting to be called in for the meeting. 

"Mr. Anderson-Hummel?" 

Kurt looked up with a start and a small smile. "Kurt, please," he said as the young woman nodded and showed him to the small room where they had a laptop set up. 

"I'm Cora Jacobs, Madeline's primary teacher, you can call me Cora. I think you met with my sub at the beginning of the year, and the few times since then, correct?" 

Kurt nodded as he entered Blaine's Skype info into the computer and sat down across from Cora. "Right," he said with a tight smile. He'd forgotten that Cora had been on maternity leave when Maddie first started the previous fall. "Our son had Mrs. Winkler for pre-school, we liked her very much....not that we have a problem with you—" 

Cora chuckled good-naturedly and waved him off. "I know what you mean, Jamie is a wonderful teacher and I'm very lucky she was able to step in for me on such short notice. She kept very detailed notes on all my students so even having only been with Maddie for a few weeks, I feel like I know her very well already!" 

Kurt smiled and let out the breath he didn’t realize he'd been holding. He hated doing these kinds of things without Blaine...he sometimes felt like he needed a buffer. The laptop next to him dinged, signaling Blaine was accepting the call, and his face filled the screen. 

After another round of introductions, Cora got the meeting started. 

"So, like I told your husband," Cora said to Blaine. "I was on maternity leave all last semester, so I'm sorry this is the first chance we are really getting to meet...but I wanted to kind of talk about Maddie's progression over the past school year, and where we go from here." 

Both men nodded as Cora pulled out a manila file with Maddie's name on it and smiled. She then went on to gush about how intelligent Maddie was, how fast she picked up on new exercises, and how attentive she was. 

"Listen," Cora said with a laugh. "I've been teaching two, three, and four year olds for almost seven years and I've rarely seen such a small child listen so intently!" 

Blaine beamed with pride as Kurt bit his lip and forced the emotion he felt welling up inside him down. 

"I mean, I'm sure you guys have noticed...she's like a sponge. She looks right at you and you just know she is taking in every single word you say."

Both men nodded again, but their grins were short lived as Cora went on. "My concern, is she seems to be delayed socially."

Kurt sat back in his chair and sneaked a glance at his husband, meeting his eyes with a short nod. 

"One on one, she blossoms." Cora pulled out Maddie's test scores to show them both. "She knows her colors, she recognizes shapes and animals, she will even point to a fair amount of letters when asked and just needs to be prompted a few times on the others.

"But," Cora continued. "When we start small groups, or when we get into one big group, she clams up. Says almost nothing and just sits and watches everyone else."

Both men nodded again and Cora gave them a small smile. "By the looks on your faces, this doesn't seem like news to either one of you."

Blaine was the first to speak up. "We have friends who have a son almost exactly Maddie's age...we've both noticed how much more he talks, how involved he gets with the older kids, how animated he is compared to Maddie. We've just been trying not to compare them..."

Cora cut in with a quick nod. "And that's good, they are two different kids that shouldn’t be compared."

Kurt opened his mouth to say something but closed it as Cora went on. "Realistically," she started, "At her age, typically none of this would really be a concern of mine. My concern is her intelligence level when working one on one, and how the social developmental delay will affect her as she grows." 

"What would you suggest we do?" Kurt asked. 

Cora went on to recommend some small group activities for her to join, and a few they can do with her. She also suggested that they both encourage her to talk more at home, but always with a patient hand so she didn’t get frustrated or feel misunderstood.

"Also," Cora went on. "I would recommend getting her a private speech pathologist."

Kurt's head snapped up. "Really?"

Cora nodded and pulled a sheet of paper from a separate file on the table next to her. "Her speech, while not categorized as delayed for a three year old, is a bit behind for her intelligence level. I think she could really benefit from the extra one-on-one time, as well as the improvements in her speech as far as talking and communicating." 

Kurt took the papers filled with pathologists' names and numbers, as well as the copy of Maddie's test scores Cora had made for them. 

She thanked both of them for meeting with her and Kurt made a sign that he would call Blaine before they disconnected Skype and Cora walked Kurt out into the office. 

"Thanks again for meeting with me," Cora said as they shook hands. 

Kurt, distracted and just wanting to talk privately with Blaine, shook her hand with a tight smile and said goodbye...hoping he wasn’t being rude as he hurried outside. He only had twenty minutes before Maddie needed to be picked up. 

He dialed the phone as he walked across the street to the park and waited for Blaine to pick up. 

"Hey honey." 

Kurt took a deep breath and tried to remember the last time those words didn’t make him feel a little better. He couldn't. "Hi..."

"You okay?"

Kurt nodded before he realized Blaine wasn’t actually standing next to him. "Yeah, just...a lot to take in. I think we already kinda knew what she was going to say, but it's one thing to know, and quite another to know." 

Blaine chuckled. "Yeah." They were quiet for a few moments. "So, I guess we should get on finding her a private pathologist."

"The best in New York," Kurt blurted out. "I want her to have the best, and not just the most expensive! The best we can find." 

"I know honey, I'll look into it tonight when I get back from set. I'll find the best one."

Kurt shook his head and kicked a random pebble on the sidewalk. "I mean, I can do it...I'm here so I can do it."

Blaine paused for a few seconds. "What does that mean?" 

Kurt's head popped up and he shrugged. "Nothing, it doesn't mean anything...I just know you are really busy, and I am here."

The line stayed quiet for a few tense moments. 

Kurt sighed. "I didn't mean anything, Blaine...I'm just worried about her. I don't want her to have a rougher time, I want her to have every possible opportunity we can give her."

"I know, Kurt," Blaine soothed softly, the hurt not completely gone from his voice. "Me too...I want that for her too, for all three of them." 

"I know you do," Kurt sniffed before shaking his head and checking his watch, knowing he needed to get back inside. "I need to go, I rushed out to call you but she'll need to be picked up in a few minutes." 

"Give her an extra squeeze from me," Blaine said, as Kurt turned and walked back toward the building. "Love you."

"I love you, too. I'll talk to you later."

******

Kurt sighed as he got into the car after dropping both Liam and Maddie off at school the following Thursday. He had a very busy day and never felt like he had enough hours in the day to get everything done. A board meeting for Rage started his morning, then he was spending the rest of his day at his studio, auditioning models for his spring runway shows. Over the years, his role with the magazine became more informal. He and Isabelle sat on the board and had final approval, but left the day-to-day management to the team of editors they hired. 

Halfway through his very busy afternoon, his phone buzzed with call from Blaine. He excused himself to his office and answered the call. 

"Hey, do you have your flight times?" he asked. 

Blaine sighed and Kurt's stomach dropped. Blaine was supposed to be coming home for the weekend. Kurt was so behind on work, and all three kids had full weekends as well. Kurt needed him home to help. 

"I...Kurt, I'm sorry, I have to work this weekend." 

Kurt blew out a careful breath. "You told me...you told Sophie, that you would be home Friday."

Blaine groaned. "I know, I know honey...I'm sorry. But we just found out today that we are gonna push through..."

"Is there any way you can get out of it?" Kurt interrupted, his annoyance taking over. 

Blaine paused for several long moments. "I don't think so, Kurt. It's not like I can just say, 'Oh my husband says I need to come home...see ya!'" 

Kurt could hear the sarcasm in his husband's voice and didn't appreciate it. 

"There's no reason to get snippy about it, Blaine. I told you!" He paused to try and regain some composure. He stood from his chair to walk around his office. "The kids have a packed weekend and I have to work! Emma has been working almost nonstop the past month and she asked for the weekend off, how can I not give it to her? You said you would be home this weekend, I asked you and you said you would!" 

"Kurt, listen. I know what I said, but if we push through and get things wrapped up, we can be done by middle of next week, then I'm home...and not just for the weekend."

"Blaine, I needed you here for this weekend," Kurt persisted, his resolve dissolving. "We talked...I know, I get it...I understand what you are saying, but that doesn’t change the fact that now I'm going to have to rearrange my whole schedule, find babysitters and..." He paused again and bit his lip. He missed his husband. 

He missed curling up in bed together at the end of a long day, he missed arms wrapping around him in the kitchen for a few stolen moments. Looks across the dining room table and working together in their shared office. 

And sex. 

God, he missed sex so much. 

But mostly he just missed Blaine. 

The moment was effectively smashed, though, when Blaine bit out, "Kurt, I don't know what you want me to say here? I have to work."

"I understand...but I have to work too--"

"It's not like I never covered for you when you were working, held the kids together when you were going here and there and not home when I needed you to be there! Are you seriously telling me you are so self-involved you can't remember...that you can't hold things together just a few more days??" 

Kurt's stomach dropped and anger overtook his body. "What is that supposed to mean? I was never gone for months at a time, only coming home for a few days...and you said—"

"Jesus Christ, Kurt!" Blaine finally yelled. "I know what I said!

Kurt stopped in his tracks. He pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it for a few seconds, resisting the urge to throw it against the wall. "You know what? I have to go. I don't have time to talk to you anymore." 

"Fine. I don't have time to talk to you either." 

"I'll tell your children you can't make it home this weekend. I'm sure they'll understand." 

Blaine sucked in a breath, but it was the last thing Kurt heard as he bit out a goodbye and punched the end button to cut off the call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry :( Next chapter coming very very soon, I promise!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole lot can change in just one year…a new house, a new school, a new baby?? Just think of what can change in almost 10 years!?! One thing is for sure–Kurt, Blaine, and their children will never take this walk through life alone. They will always have each other, and the family they surround themselves with.
> 
> _Walk on, walk on…with hope in your heart…and you’ll never walk alone. You’ll never walk alone.-Carousel_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m here!! I’m back with a new chapter! I’m sorry again for how I left the last one...but I hope the payout is worth it. Happy Sunday and happy reading :). Also, warnings for hospitals and sick parents. 
> 
> Major thanks to @whitesheepcbd for all her beta skills and support!

Blaine had never gone more than 24 hours without talking to his husband since the day they were married, probably even before that when he really stopped to think about it. 

They'd had the occasional hurried goodnight text before they had Sophie and were still carving out names for themselves in the world...but even when they were in different cities for different things, they always made time for each other. 

Even when their babies were small and they were too tired at the end of the day to do much else but collapse in the same bed with little more than a mumbled goodnight to each other. 

But as he readied himself for the scene he needed to shoot on Monday morning, he marked the time at three days since he'd heard from his husband. He'd called the kids Saturday night, but Liam told him they were at home with Maggie, one of their sitters. A sitter that Sophie was not particularly fond of, unfortunately. 

"She treats me like a baby," Sophie had whispered when it was her turn to talk to him. 

All day Monday he'd stared at his phone between set-ups, willing Kurt to call him, but unwilling to make the call himself. He knew he'd been kind of an ass, but what did Kurt expect? Him to just drop everything? Kurt was the one who had pushed him to do this in the first place! 

Blaine had been the one with major reservations. Kurt had promised they could work through it and everything would be okay. 

_Some "okay."_ he thought, sighing when the director called him over. 

It wasn’t until much later when the director called "Cut!" and wrapped everyone for the next hour that a PA walked up to him, his phone in her hand. 

"Your husband called a bit ago, said it was an emergency and for you to call him back." 

Blaine's heart dropped to his toes as he took the phone. "Did he say what happened? How long ago did he call?" 

The PA shrugged. "Maybe 10 minutes ago? He didn't say." 

Blaine shook out of his costume suit jacket and handed it over to a wardrobe person as he dialed his phone with shaky fingers and hurried outside to his trailer. 

"Hi," Kurt finally said, a tremor in his voice that Blaine could hear from hundreds of miles away. 

"Hey, what happened? Are you okay? Are the kids okay?" 

"The kids are fine, don't worry," Kurt said, taking a deep breath. "It's Dad." 

The relief Blaine felt hearing the kids were okay was quickly replaced with fear for his father-in-law as Kurt continued. 

"He was having trouble breathing, and having some pretty bad chest pains. He tried to tell the guys at the garage that he could drive himself to the hospital, but they insisted someone take him and he collapsed so they had to call 911. I don't know all the details because Carole was pretty upset when she called me...but she said he's awake. I did hear surgery and chest pains and..." He paused as his voice cracked slightly. "I'm so scared, Blaine." 

"Oh honey," Blaine whispered, wishing more than anything he could hold Kurt in his arms. "Where are you?" 

Kurt sniffed. "I'm in a car on my way to the airport. My flight's in half an hour, it will be a miracle if I make it, but I have to go...I have to be there with him." 

"Of course, of course you do," Blaine soothed. He was already changing out of his costume and into his own clothes. "The kids with Emma?" 

Kurt took a deep breath. "Yeah, she got home last night. The older two are still at school..." 

"Okay, I want you to call me as soon as you land in Ohio," Blaine said as he buttoned up his shirt and stepped into his topsiders. "I'll figure out a way to get out of here and be on the first flight to New York I can get on, unless...do you want me to come straight to Ohio?" 

"Yes, but no..." Kurt sighed. "I do, but I think it would be better if you went to the house. The kids need you, and I'll have Carole. We can figure out the rest when we know more about Dad's situation. But what are you going to do about work?" 

"I don't even care at this point," Blaine said, haphazardly throwing things into his bag. "I'll tell them I have a family emergency and I need to get home...we are almost done now, so I don't even care." 

Kurt huffed out a small laugh before he got quiet for a few long moments. "I'm so sorry, Blaine," he said finally. "I was stupid and stressed. I was tired and not being fair." 

"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for letting it go on this long, too...I should have called you yesterday, I wanted to. I was being stubborn." 

"I love you." 

Blaine stopped and closed his eyes. "I love you too, Kurt. I love you so much." 

Kurt cleared his throat and sighed. "Okay, we are coming up on the airport and I'm going to have to run to make this flight." 

"Right, be safe. I love you. Call me as soon as you land and hopefully I'll have everything figured out for my flight to New York." 

"I love you too, I'll talk to you soon." 

"Bye honey." 

****** 

Leaving Colorado was actually easier than Blaine was expecting. The producers told him to go be with his family. They could splice in anything they didn’t have for the last few scenes or cut them if they had to. He was mostly done anyway. 

There was a flight to New York leaving in two hours and still had seats available. It had a layover in Atlanta, but it was better than nothing as the next nonstop wasn’t until morning, and that was too long to wait. He packed up his rental as best he could and took a cab to the airport. 

He was boarding the plane before Kurt landed in Ohio so he left him a message, letting him know of his travel plans and promising to keep him updated. They played phone-tag with each other during Blaine's layover, finally getting to talk when Blaine was in the cab taking him into the city around 1:00 am. 

"They said he has something called pericarditis," Kurt told him, his voice bone tired. "Which is not good, especially with his age and previous heart problems...but they don't think he had another heart attack...at least not yet. We won't know much more until he's been on antibiotics and steroids for a few days." 

"Did you get to see him?" Blaine asked. 

"For a bit, he's pretty tired and they have him on oxygen to help with the breathing and pain meds...but they let me in for a few minutes when I first got here. He was joking around, told me I was silly for coming all this way when he was perfectly fine." 

Blaine laughed. "That sounds a lot like him." Kurt huffed out a small laugh but didn’t say much else. "I'm on my way home now, are you at the house?" 

"Yeah...I sent Carole up to bed. I think I'm gonna have some tea and try to get some sleep as well. We have to be back at the hospital by seven for morning rounds to talk to his doctor again." 

"Good, I'll get the kids up tomorrow and we'll figure out where to go from there." 

They said their goodbyes just as Blaine's cab was pulling up in front of their townhouse. Emma was sitting at the table waiting for him when he walked in the garden door, dropping his suitcases and giving her a hug. 

"The kids asleep?" 

She nodded and offered to make him a sandwich. "The girls are, Liam is a little unsettled." 

Blaine nodded as he pulled a beer from the fridge and popped the cap off. 

"You know he doesn't do well when things suddenly change. He wasn’t happy that neither of you were home but he wouldn’t really articulate why other than he just wasn’t happy." 

Blaine nodded again and gratefully accepted the turkey sandwich Emma handed him. 

"He's been up a few times already, but was asleep the last time I checked on him." 

"I'll go up as soon as I finish this," Blaine said, pointing to his plate. "You can go on to bed, I'm not sure what's happening tomorrow, but I'm sure it's not going to be a normal Tuesday." 

Emma gave him a small smile and squeezed his shoulder. "Night Blaine, I'm sorry the circumstances...but it's nice to have you home." 

****** 

The next week was a whirlwind of phone calls between Kurt and Blaine to keep the other updated, joint google searches to understand medical talk a little better, and reassurances to the kids that Grampy was going to be okay, but Papa was staying with him until he was feeling better. 

Burt seemed to be responding to the medication he was on, but was still very weak and needed oxygen to keep his blood levels up. The doctors assured both Carole and Kurt, that once the infection in his heart had healed, his body should be able to regulate itself and he wouldn't need the help anymore...but both Kurt and Carole were worried nonetheless. 

"He is just...he was always able to bounce back," Kurt told Blaine one night on the phone. "And this time, he just looks so small." 

Blaine tried to be there for his husband as best he could, but it was hard to do from so far away.

Thursday night Blaine sat across from a Skype screen, watching his husband's tired face fight to smile and tell him everything was looking better.

"The doctors told us today that this weekend they are going to start weaning him off the oxygen. If he handles it okay, they'll let him come home sometime next week to finish his recovery at home."

Blaine heaved a huge sigh of relief, his brain already working out a plan as he pulled up a second website screen but continued to give Kurt his full attention. "That's great honey, that's so great."

Kurt nodded as he took a sip of his tea and sighed. "How are my babies?"

Blaine nodded as he turned his attention back to Kurt and minimized the second screen he had pulled up. "They're good, they miss you. We all do."

"I miss you guys, too. I miss all of you so much. Dad and Carole too, I think we've talked more about them than anything else."

Blaine laughed and nodded. "They are a great subject. I could talk about them for hours."

An hour later, Blaine insisted Kurt get to bed. That they could talk tomorrow and he needed his rest. After Kurt had signed off, Blaine stood up and got his plan in motion. 

******

Hospital coffee sucked. 

If Kurt could change just one thing, universally, about hospitals...it would be to put some decent coffee and non-dairy creamer in every hospital across the world. He made a face as he took another sip and set the paper cup down on the table in front of him. 

It was disgusting, but at least it was hot...and full of caffeine. 

He sighed and picked up his phone again. He returned an e-mail to his assistant Malarie who was covering for him at the magazine this week. He had basically put everything on hold, but the magazine needed to run whether he was there or not. He thanked whatever deity may exist every day that Malerie had come into his professional life...but he knew he needed to promote her soon to something more than just his assistant. 

He needed to talk to Iz about it...it was time. He knew it was time. She was too talented to keep covering for him, no matter how much he appreciated it. 

He shook his head and put his phone down. Thinking about work may distract him for a moment, but he needed to keep his head where it was supposed to be, and that was on his parents. 

Carole was too thin. He could tell she was stressed and tired and worried. His dad was getting better, but was still sick...his stomach knotted up and he pushed away the thought of losing either of them. This stay had been like a big neon sign reminder, blinking at him that they were getting older. That they wouldn't be around forever. 

He bit his lip and willed his eyes to stop watering as he sniffed and reminded himself of the doctor's promising words that morning. His dad was on the mend, and Carole had actually smiled and giggled when his dad made a stupid joke about hospital gowns and butts, reminding him that her face didn't always look sad and drawn. 

He sighed again and sat forward in the hard plastic of the hospital waiting room chair. He rested his elbows on his knees and pushed his palms into his eyes, rubbing slightly and attempting to pop his neck a few times. He felt a soft hand on his shoulder and his head shot up, but he was met with Carole's calming eyes and soft smile. 

"Everything's fine, they took him to get another EKG and chest x-ray. He'll be gone about an hour, insisted we get some lunch that's not hospital food. Take a break." 

Kurt nodded as he set his head back in his hands again and took a deep breath. The fear that had struck him like a freight train started to ebb away as he caught his breath and Carole continued to rub his back quietly for a few moments. 

Suddenly she stopped and started laughing. 

"Oh my goodness!" she cried with more joy than he had heard all week. He raised his head just as he heard Sophie and Liam crying out for him. 

Blaine and the kids were walking down the hallway, Emma behind them holding Maddie on her hip. Kurt stood up and knelt down as Sophie and Liam ran into his arms, Maddie smooshing herself between them a few moments later. 

"Oh my god it's good to see you," he cried as he held all three of them impossibly close. He looked over to where Blaine had wrapped Carole in his arms and was talking quietly to her. She was nodding and smiling even as a single tear fell down her face. 

He released the older two to go over and attack their Grammy while she laughed and hugged them back just as tightly. He lifted Maddie onto his hip and kissed her forehead. She patted her little hands on his cheeks and rubbed their noses together with a soft smile. 

He felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted off of his heart as Blaine walked over and pulled them both into him, Maddie wrapping her arms around both of their necks. 

"What are you doing here?!, How?!" he asked with a noise that was half sob half laugh. "Why didn't you tell me?" 

Blaine shrugged as he pressed their lips together quickly. "The kids and I decided that we needed our Papa and Grammy, so Emma and I got up early and packed. We got the kids ready and took the first flight out at 10:00am. We rented a car from the airport and here we are." 

Kurt bit his lip and hugged Blaine again, whispering a quiet "thank you" in his ear before kissing his cheek. He passed Maddie over to Carole and pulled Emma into a hug as well. 

Kurt gave Blaine the update while Carole talked with the kids about Grampy, that he was doing better but still very tired and sick. They had to be extra gentle and quiet with him. Sophie and Liam nodded seriously, and Maddie just sat on Carole's lap and held her hand, her little head tucked up against Carole's chest. 

"They actually just took Dad down for a few tests, Carole and I were talking about going to grab a late lunch. Have you guys eaten?" 

"I'm hungry, Papa," Sophie piped up with Liam nodding next to her, agreeing that he was hungry as well. 

Emma offered to take Maddie, but Maddie whined and clung closer to Carole, so Carole shook her head with a smile. "She's fine," she said as they walked from the hospital and across the street to a little diner. 

The kids were set up with grilled cheese and tomato soup, all three of them wanting to sit next to Papa and tell him about their week without him, he listened dutifully, helped Maddie with her soup, and shared the avocado from his salad with Liam. 

It was a relief to deal with his dad duties again, and let everything else kind of fall away and focus on the needs of his children. Being without them for a week had been a little jarring and he was so happy to have them around again. 

Blaine and Carole had been talking intently but Kurt perked up when he heard Blaine tell her that he and the kids were going to stay at his mom's house. 

"She's on a cruise this month, and the kids can be a little much when you are already stressed out from a long day at the hospital."

Kurt was just getting ready to interject when Carole beat him to it. 

"Oh please don’t do that..." she started, seeming to catch herself. "I mean, of course do what you want...but please don't go stay there because you think it will be an inconvenience for me," she insisted. "That big house gets so quiet, I love when you are all here and the noises it brings. I think it would be better, actually, to come home to them at the end of the long day at the hospital." 

Kurt and Blaine shared a quiet look between them and nodded in agreement. 

******

"Well," Kurt said as he walked into the kitchen later that night, waving the baby monitor before setting it on the table where Blaine and Carole were sitting. "It only took three books, a few songs and a backrub for Liam, but all three of them are fast asleep. Sophie and Maddie on the daybed and Liam on the trundle next to them." 

Carole smiled as she stood and set her cup in the sink. She bid both of them goodnight before blowing a kiss and heading up to bed herself. 

Kurt grinned as he sat in her vacated chair next to his husband and reached over to squeeze his leg gently. 

"I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to sleeping next to you again tonight," Kurt said with a tired smile."I feel like it's been forever." 

Blaine dropped his eyes and retracted just enough. Kurt squeezed his leg tighter.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that," Kurt tried to insist. "I just meant...I just meant that I really missed you."

Blaine nodded but still wouldn't meet his husband's eyes.

"I guess we never really talked about what happened, did we?" Kurt asked and Blaine shook his head. 

"I guess not." 

"We were never all that great with long distance," Kurt said with a small chuckle. "I feel like we keep forgetting that."

Blaine huffed out a laugh but didn't say anything and Kurt continued. 

"Listen honey, I know we both said we were sorry...and a part of me wishes we could just leave it at we were having a rough time, and said some things we didn't mean." Kurt paused and Blaine lifted his head to look his husband in the eye. "But something tells me there is a little more to it than that, and I just wanna make sure we are okay."

Blaine was quiet for a long few moments but finally nodded. "I just feel like," he started before pausing to collect his thoughts once again. "I'm just confused, because we had this conversation together, we talked about it over and over for months, and I get it, I really do get it, you needed me to be there and I wasn't...but I just feel like you started to resent me a little." 

Kurt let the words his husband had said wash over him before taking a breath. "No," he assured Blaine. "And it really was more than just being upset that the plans had changed, plans change all the time. With three kids and two working parents, I'm used to that by now. I was having a bad day, and I took it out on you because I was sad, and lonely, and stressed out. And I missed you so much, I was upset you weren't going to be home, because I wanted you to be home...for me." 

Blaine mustered a sad smile and leaned over to press their foreheads together. "I missed you too, and I felt so far removed from our life, I think I may have taken that out on you a little bit...I'm sorry."

"I think I understand that a little more too," Kurt whispered with a sad smile. "The past week has been really hard without you and the kids...I think I tend to forget how much all of you ground me when I'm feeling overwhelmed," he paused to let out a watery laugh. "Even when you all are the source," he joked and Blaine chuckled as well. 

Kurt sighed "I'm sorry I made you fell like I resented you, maybe I did a little..."

Blaine nodded as he set his hand over Kurt's on his thigh, threading their fingers together.

"I need you to know," Kurt told him. "That I always have been and always will be so, so proud of the work you do for our family, and for yourself. No matter what, I don't want you ever to think that I'm not." 

Blaine nodded and bit his lip to keep from crying again.

Kurt leaned over with a smile and pulled his husband into his arms, their lips meeting finally. "Even now, years later," he mumbled, their mouths mere inches from one another, "You still take my breath away...and I am still so proud to be with you."

Blaine closed the distance between them once again and they were lost in each other for a few moments, only breaking apart when Blaine tried to pull Kurt closer and made the chair leg screech against the floor, sounding even louder in the quiet room. 

"Bed?" Kurt asked, his chest heaving as Blaine nodded, biting his lip as they hurried upstairs, closing and locking the door behind them. 

******

Sunday morning when the doctors made their rounds, they announced Burt could go home that afternoon. 

"He's been breathing without assistance for a few days with his oxygen levels evening out, his coloring looks much better and the EKG's we've been doing are all coming back as we would hope. We are confident he can finish his recovery at home."

Blaine and Kurt asked again if everyone was sure the kids shouldn't go stay at Blaine's moms house, at least at night.

Burt rejected that out of hand before Blaine had even finished the sentence. 

"No way. I've barely gotten to see the older two and Maddie not at all," he insisted. "I’m sure I'll do better with them around."

Kurt found it hard to argue with him since it was the strongest he'd looked in days, and Blaine was never very good at arguing with Burt...always feeling like he was the sixteen year old kid trying to make a good impression on the dad of the man he loves. 

Blaine and the kids were flying back to New York on Tuesday morning so the kids could get back to school, anyway. 

Their dads had carefully explained that Grampy was still recovering so they had to be extra gentle with him...but as soon as Carole and Kurt brought Burt home and set him up in the recliner in the living room, all three of them were obsessed with making sure he was taken care of. 

Liam read him book after book. Sophie brought him extra blankets and pillows, made him tea, and made sure the TV was always playing a game or a TV show he would like. Maddie just sat on his lap and leaned up against him, not saying much at all. 

Burt soaked all of it in, listened intently to Liam—until he was lured to sleep that is—always let Sophie know what she could bring him, and held Maddie tight, taking little naps right along with her. 

Monday the kids got a little rowdy, so Blaine and Carole took them to the park to run off some of their energy. Kurt spent some quality time with his dad while he cooked dinner...the Hummel men tended to be quiet, but filled their silences with words that didn't need to be said out loud. 

That night, as Kurt was upstairs getting the kids ready for bed, and Carole was on the phone giving updates to family members, Blaine sat down on the couch across from Burt to watch the last twenty minutes of the OSU basketball game. 

"So," Burt said after a few moments. "Kurt told me Maddie's been seeing a speech therapist? Doesn't seem like to me she has any problems with telling you what she needs."

Blaine looked over and half laughed, half sighed. "Yeah, her teacher recommended she get some added assistance, and that's basically what her pathologist said," Blaine shrugged. "The issue is she communicates so much nonverbally, and barely at all when not one-on-one, they are worried she will eventually regress." 

Burt tilted his head. "And you aren't?"

Blaine shrugged again but looked his father-in-law in the eye. "I told Kurt it feels a little like trying to fix a problem before a problem exists." 

Burt hummed and nodded. 

"I mean," Blaine blurted out. "Don't get me wrong, if there is a problem, I want her to have every opportunity possible to fix it...I'm just worried we are pushing her to be a certain way...like who she is isn't good enough and we need to make her conform." Blaine shook his head and shrugged again. "But then on the other hand, if we can prevent her from having issues later on...shouldn't we do everything possible to help her?" 

Burt nodded and bit his lip. To him, his grandkids were perfect, and Maddie seemed so smart and kind. She was empathetic to others' moods and feelings, even at just barely three years old. There was also something to be said for having two older siblings that were so loud and boisterous, and he noticed that sometimes Sophie and Liam tended to talk for Maddie, and Maddie just going along with it. So while Burt was inclined to agree with Blaine on this issue, he could also see wanting to make sure his youngest granddaughter didn't have a harder time with life that was absolutely necessary...and if this could help, then who was he to say it wasn't the right decision? 

Selfishly, he was glad it wasn't his decision to make. He reached over and clapped Blaine on the shoulder. Blaine smiled at him as Carole walked back in the room. 

"Everyone is very happy you are home," she said, leaning down to press a small kiss against Burt's head. 

"I'd second that," Kurt piped up as he walked in the room behind her, setting the baby monitor on the coffee table in front of them and plopping down next to Blaine.

Carole settled on the arm of the chair next to Burt. "You ready to head up to bed?" 

Burt shook his head and reached over to pat her leg. "I think we should talk to the kids."

Kurt's head shot up from where he was leaning on Blaine's shoulder. "Talk to us about what?"

Carole shared a quick look with Burt, before nodding and moving to the chair across from him. "It's not bad news, sweetie. We promise."

"No, not at all. It's good news, in fact."

Blaine looked from Burt to Carole and sat forward on the couch a little. "So, what's up?"

"Carole and I have decided to sell the house," Burt finally said. Kurt's eyes grew wide and Blaine tilted his head...as if he hadn't heard Burt correctly. "I'm also letting Mike buy me out of the garage. He's keeping the name, as a kind of homage to me, but in a few months, it will be his...not mine anymore."

"We decided we are moving a little closer to you guys," Carole cut in with a smile. "Very close, in fact."

"As in..." Blaine trailed off, not even trying to hide the smile from his face.

"As in, Sunday dinners and last minute pick-ups from school events if necessary," Burt told him with a laugh. 

Kurt sat back in astonishment. This was honestly the last thing he was expecting his dad to say to him tonight. 

"With the sale of the house, the buyout from the garage, and our nest egg we've been saving most of our marriage," Burt said, "We can get the little two bedroom apartment in Brooklyn we've had our eye on, and spend the rest of our days close to you and the kids."

"This big house," Carole said. "It's too big for just us anymore, and one or two visits a year from you all." Carole held up her had when Blaine tried to interrupt. 

"And by that I don't mean that I want you guys to come here more," she insisted and Blaine sat back again. "I mean that we come to New York much more than you ever come here. It just makes sense for us to make the decision now, rather than in fifteen or twenty years when you have to make the decision for us." 

"Oh man, I don't even want to think about that," Kurt mumbled and Blaine wrapped an arm around his husband's back. 

Burt nodded. "I know you don't, I don't either...but death, as much as anything else, is a part of life. And these past few weeks have been a giant reminder that life is short, and I want the rest of mine to be with the people I care most about."

Kurt bit his lip and sniffed, leaning into his husband a little more.

"I want to go to soccer games and art shows," Burt continued. "I..we," he corrected with a nod to Carole. "We want to be there for the little things, just as much as for the big things. And with everything going on the past year, with Blaine working and Kurt working, we know it can help, us being so close. We've been thinking about it a lot."

Kurt and Blaine shared a stolen look between them, and Kurt shook his head. Of course he hadn't said anything to his dad about how hard it had been, but the man had just known. The corners of Blaine's mouth perked just enough that Kurt knew he wasn't mad, they were really past the argument they'd had. 

"When you're from our generation," Carole started, pulling them both out of their silent conversation. "You grow with this mentality that you need to work as hard as you can to take care of yourself, but also so you can leave something for your children. Something tangible for them to hold onto when you are gone."

"But you guys," Burt said with a smile. "You guys did far better than either of us could have ever done, and you don't need that part from us."

"Oh Dad, that's just not true," Kurt interupted with a slight wobble in his voice. "You were the one who taught me to be the person I am...I learned it all from you."

Burt shook his head and shrugged. "Be that as it may, you took what I did and ran with it. Created a person I'm so damn proud of. I wish I could take all the credit, but it's all you, man. It's all you." 

Kurt stood up and walked over to hug his dad, pulling Blaine along with him.

"I take it you are okay with us moving a little closer?" Burt joked, once Kurt and Blaine had moved back to the couch.

"Ha ha, very funny," Kurt said, sticking out his tongue when Carole started giggling. "Of course we are okay with it, we would love you to be closer! I just honestly never thought it would happen. I figured you were too attached to this old place."

Carole looked around with a sigh. "This place has a lot of great memories," she agreed. "But it's time to make new ones, in a new place," she paused again and reached out for Burt's hand. "All of us." 

Kurt beamed. "But why Brooklyn? I mean, not that it's not great, just...what made you decide on Cobble Hill?" 

Carole stood up and grabbed her tablet from where it was laying on the table. She walked back over to the couch and handed the device over for Kurt and Blaine to look over the pictures she'd pulled up. 

"My friend Chelsea and her husband moved there a few years ago, they told us about a vacancy in their building and we started talking about the possibility. We've known for a while that eventually the house would get to be too much for us, and it just made sense."

"We thought we could move somewhere smaller here, but the more we thought about it, the less we wanted to do that," Burt chimed in with Carole nodding next to him. 

"We know that eventually we will get to a place..." she trailed off and shrugged. "The move closer to you guys was inevitably going to happen. We just kinda moved it up and to our terms, so we can enjoy each other and our family, all together."

Kurt smiled again, but sat a little closer to his husband on the couch. He understood what everyone was skirting around...he didn't have to like it, but he understood what they were saying. 

"We obviously missed out on that apartment Chelsea and Rob were telling us about, but other ones pop up all the time. We were just waiting for the perfect one and for the house to go on the market."

"We'd already made our decision, before this happened," Burt broke in, motioning to his chest with an annoyed sigh. "But now things have to slow down a little. We were hoping to be moving this summer, but now my wife tells me we have to push it back until this fall."

"Your wife would be correct," Kurt told him, shaking his head. "Listen to her, she's a good woman." 

Burt rolled his eyes but smiled at Blaine when Kurt and Carole immediately started decorating the new apartment, and Blaine held up the remote again. 

"I'm sure there are some highlights somewhere we can watch," Burt said, as Blaine laughed and flipped the TV back on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole lot can change in just one year…a new house, a new school, a new baby?? Just think of what can change in almost 10 years!?! One thing is for sure–Kurt, Blaine, and their children will never take this walk through life alone. They will always have each other, and the family they surround themselves with.
> 
> _Walk on, walk on…with hope in your heart…and you’ll never walk alone. You’ll never walk alone.-Carousel_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As we head into the final few chapters of this ‘verse, we start doing some time jumps. This chapter is the first with picking up a year after the last chapter ended. There are no specific warnings for this chapter, although you may have noticed I added one to the general warnings. If you have any questions my ask is always open. 
> 
> If ya’ll know me at all, you know that I’m a very visual writer. I need to see what I’m writing about. All three kids have a Pinterest board that I’ve fully updated to this point and will continue to do through the last few chapters, as well as the added links inside the story. The boards are full of pictures of not only how I see the kids and their personalities, but also just things that remind me of them and helped shape the way I wrote each of them within the story. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do<3 
> 
> [Sophia](https://www.pinterest.com/beffone21/sophia-elizabeth/) [Liam](https://www.pinterest.com/beffone21/liam-devon/) [Madeline](https://www.pinterest.com/beffone21/madeline-louise/)

"I'm so sorry honey," Blaine said into his ear. "We ran over and I missed my flight, now it's storming so bad over Colorado they've grounded my plane for the next few hours. There's no way I would make it before we needed to leave."

Kurt sighed as he cradled the phone on his shoulder and smiled at Emma walking in with [Maddie](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979391093653/) on her hip. "I understand. I don't like it...but I understand." 

Four-year-old Maddie hurried over after Emma set her down and reached her arms up for Kurt. He leaned down to pick her up and put his phone on speaker. "You'll be here tomorrow?" 

"Yes. I'll take the first flight out in the morning and be there before Liam's match, I promise." 

Kurt nodded as he agreed and told his husband goodbye, promising he wasn't upset and that he loved him. Maddie smiled at him and patted his cheeks before rubbing their noses together and giggling. 

"Did you have a good day, bean?" he asked, kissing her temple.

"Yep," she answered, nodding. "Can I have a snack?" 

Kurt shook his head as they walked toward the stairs. "We gotta go upstairs and get you packed! You are spending the night with Grampy and Grammy!"

"Really?!" 

Kurt laughed as they got to the master floor and he set her on her feet again. "Yes, really! Liam is going to a sleepover with his football team before their game tomorrow and Papa has a gallery opening to go to."

Maddie nodded as Kurt pushed her toward the stairs to her bedroom. "Go on, pick out some PJ's and pack your bunny, I'll be up in a minute to help you with the rest." 

Maddie excitedly raced up the stairs. Kurt took Blaine's suit that he'd picked up from the cleaners and hung it back in their closet with a sigh, thinking for not the first time in the last few years that this whole parenting from different sides of the country was much harder than either of them had anticipated, even if it was for only a few months of the year. 

He missed his husband. 

Shaking away some of the sadness, he took a deep breath and headed upstairs to the top floor where Sophie's room and studio was. For most of her life she'd kept most of her projects in her room, venturing out to the master balcony when she needed to paint something more in-depth...but as a surprise for Christmas that year, her dads had promised her a studio. 

Moving Liam to the third floor and forgoing a guest room seemed the simplest plan. Now that Burt and Carole lived in the city and Lena always stayed in a hotel, there didn’t seem much use for a guest room. Technically she was supposed to share the studio with her brother and sister, but Liam didn't have much use for it and Maddie only went in there when she wanted to spend time with Sophie. 

"Hey," Kurt said after knocking gently on the open door. [Sophie](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979389857062/) turned around and grinned. 

"Hey Pops." 

"Do you have any plans tonight that I don't know about?" he asked, walking over to a stool and sitting down. Sophie shrugged and pointed her remote at the boom bar in the corner to turn it down. 

"You're lookin' at it," she said, pointing to the painting she was working on. "Summer Morgan was supposed to be having a movie night in her media room, but her whole family has the flu...so I figured I could work on this for a while." 

"Yeah, no," Kurt said with a weary glance. "No flu for you, please." 

"Yeah Papa, like I really wanna get the flu," she said, rolling her eyes and peeking around her easel to smile at him. "Why, what's going on?" 

Kurt sighed as he stood up and walked over to the drafting table Mel had given her. Maddie must have been the last one to sit at it since there were several crayon covered papers strewn about. He smiled as he picked up one to get a closer look. "Well, Liam has a sleepover with his teammates and Maddie is spending the night with Gramp and Gram because I have a gallery opening to go to." 

"I thought Dad was supposed to be home today?" 

"He's stuck in Denver...there was a storm and his flight was delayed. He probably won't be in until late tonight or early tomorrow morning." 

Sophie nodded as she stood up from her stool and walked into the bathroom. 

"I'll see if Emma has any plans tonight, she can hang out with you while I'm gone." 

Sophie groaned from the bathroom and walked back out with a fresh cup of water. "Pop, that is so stupid," she complained, sitting back at her easel. "I'm perfectly fine here for a few hours, you don’t need to make Emma stay home when I'm just going to be up here all night long!" 

"Soph..." 

"No, Papa...seriously? I'm thirteen years old, I can stay home alone for a few hours...it's really not that big a deal." 

It was Kurt's turn to groan as he closed his eyes and willed himself to see where she was coming from. "Yeah, I guess I was about thirteen when I started staying home alone..." 

Sophie walked over to him and kissed his cheek. "Look, the grandparents are a subway ride away and Aunt Mel is just on the other side of the park. I can call either of them if something serious happens, but I'll set the alarm and stay inside and everything will be fine, I promise." 

Kurt looked at her warily. "You promise you won't go anywhere?" 

She crossed her heart. "The only time the door will open is for my no sauce and extra mushrooms pizza, I promise." 

Kurt let out a small chuckle but nodded his head. "I gotta call Dad, make sure he's okay with this...but as long as he is and as long as you promise to be—"

Sophie nodded as she sat back down at her painting and picked up one of her brushes before interrupting him. "I promise. I'll be the most boring of teenagers tonight."

Kurt nodded as he stood up and kissed the top of her head. "Listen," he said, waving his hand around her. "This whole 'growing up' thing? I don't like it and I'd very much appreciate it if you could stop." 

Sophie laughed but didn't take her eyes from her painting "I'll give it a shot, Pops." 

He gave her one last look before leaving the room. Her music started back up as he walked down the stairs and heard Liam and his friend Dylan in Liam's bedroom. 

******

Kurt held Maddie's hand tightly as they waited for the train to come to a stop in front of them. She led him by the hand as they boarded and he pulled her close to him as he found a place to stand in the crowded car. 

They could've taken a cab, or even ordered a car, but this time of day the traffic would be murder...and his parents' apartment in Cobble Hill was just a few blocks away from a subway stop. 

Maddie didn't say much on the train, but then...she never did. She smiled up at her Papa a few times when he twisted the blonde hair from her ponytail around his finger, or pulled her a little closer to him, but mostly she just watched.

It took a few years, but Kurt and Blaine finally came to realize that Maddie was never going to be a big talker. She was a quiet child, but not an unhappy one. She just preferred to watch, more than participate. 

She pointed out a few things on their walk, and added a little skip to her step as they rounded the corner and Grampy and Grammy's building came into view. 

Carole greeted Kurt and Maddie with big hugs when they rang her buzzer. 

"Thank you so much for keeping her tonight, Carole," he said, handing over her bag as Maddie skipped off. "Where's Dad?" 

"Oh he spends Friday afternoons at the community center," she told him with a playful eye-roll. "And it's not a problem at all sweetie, we're happy to," Carole told him as he followed her into the apartment. "You look nice. You and Blaine have big plans tonight?" 

Kurt shook his head as they walked into the kitchen. "I have a dinner and then a gallery opening...but Blaine got stuck in Denver so he won't be here until tomorrow morning." He stopped when he smelled what Carole had made for dinner. "Oh man...pot roast?" he asked.

Carole nodded with a small laugh. "Yeah, I figured I'd make it for us tonight then take some over to Mary in 6C who just had a hip replacement." 

Kurt moaned and pouted. "I wish I could stay for your pot roast...." 

She kissed his cheek and patted his arm. "Well I'll save some for you too, honey." 

"Thanks," he said with a small smile. 

Carole looked up at him and frowned. "Everything okay, Kurt? You look a little down." 

He shrugged and sat at her kitchen table. "Just a long week," he said. "Work has been....well work, and Blaine hasn't been home for almost two weeks...and I never sleep very well when he's gone..." He trailed off and shrugged. 

Carole nodded sympathetically.

Kurt looked up and smiled softly. "Also," he started with a sigh. "Sophie is staying home alone for the first time tonight...."

Carole looked up. "Oh? She could have stayed here, we wouldn't have minded at all." 

Kurt waved his hand. "No, I know. She's just getting to that age where she wants to do more and more things on her own. She wanted to paint tonight and order pizza and prove she was old enough for me to trust her. I get it...I just don’t have to like it." 

Carole laughed and got up when the oven timer went off. 

"I mean, she's been a teenager since she was about seven years old...I don't know why this is hitting me so hard tonight?" 

Carole shrugged as she walked back into the room with a dishtowel over her shoulder. "There really isn't an answer to that, unfortunately. She's growing up." 

"Yeah..." Kurt shook himself from the sadness again and looked into the living room where Maddie was playing with a box of dolls Carole had collected over the years. He took a deep breath and smiled at his stepmother. "Anyway, I need to get going. We'll see you guys in the morning?" 

Carole nodded as she smiled when Kurt kissed her cheek. "Have a good night, sweetie." 

Kurt walked into the living room and stooped down to pull his youngest daughter in his arms. "I love you bean, I'll see you in the morning." 

"Love you too, Papa," she answered with a smile, and kissed his cheek. 

******

Kurt nodded along with the couple he was talking to, his highball gin and tonic cold in his hand as he secretly checked his watch, sighing when he realized he'd barely been there an hour and needed to put in a little more face time than that. 

The woman asked him a question, which he answered then begged off, saying he needed to get a breath of fresh air for a moment. He walked out to the rooftop balcony and looked across the city. He pulled his phone from his pocket and thumbed out a text to Sophie, before shaking his head and exiting the app. 

If he really was going to trust her, texting her for the fifth time since he'd left a few hours ago was going a little overboard. Instead he sent Blaine a completely random emoji, calling back to a game they played when they were bored and at separate parties for the evening. He smiled a few moments later when Blaine texted back the gun, smiley face, and piece of pie. 

He was just about to shoot back something equally as random when the app closed out and Mel's face filled his screen. 

"Hey you, what's up?" he asked when he answered her call. 

"Does your daughter suddenly hate me for some reason?" 

Kurt was taken aback for a moment and almost snorted out the drink he had taken. "What?" 

"Well..." she started. "Luke and I had a dinner on your side of the city tonight, so I figured I'd pop over and get the details of Liam's game tomorrow since my conference was canceled and I can actually go now..."

"Oh, you can? That's great!" 

"Yeah, it would be if your daughter didn’t suddenly hate my guts!" 

Kurt laughed as a waiter came by and asked if he could freshen his drink. Kurt nodded yes and whispered his order before handing him the glass. "What happened?" 

"I have no idea!" Mel cried, the city getting louder around her as she presumably walked down the street. "I knocked on the door, she opened and had this face like I had slashed her tires or something. I barely got a word in edgewise before she stomped upstairs and left me standing in the foyer."

Kurt groaned, then laughed. "She probably thinks I sent you over there to check on her," he said. "She begged me to let her stay home alone tonight. That I needed to start trusting her and let her grow up."

"Well that's no reason to hate me!" Mel cried and Kurt started giggling. "I didn't do anything! I kindly reminded her that I brought her into this world, and I could take her out if I wanted."

"Oh yeah, how did that go over?"

"I heard the door slam from two floors away." 

Kurt outright laughed at that. "Did you put your dad through this when you were her age? I swear she is pushing all my buttons. She can be so sweet and funny and fun, and then I turn around and she is yelling about the fact that she doesn't eat meat anymore why is that the only thing we have in the house?" 

Mel chuckled as she quietly told her cab driver her address before turning her attention back to Kurt. "I don't know what you are talking about, I was a perfect angel." 

"Yeah I'm sure," Kurt snorted. "Me too." 

"I'm rolling my eyes at you but you can't tell because we're on the phone." 

"Yeah, yeah. What are you up to tonight?" 

Mel sighed. "I'm headed home now, Luke went back to the office to work a few more hours and I need to get some editing done." 

"Booo," Kurt murmured. "I was hoping you would come downtown and keep me company at this gallery opening. I'm about three seconds away from calling it quits. I hate networking with people I don't like." 

Mel snorted. "And we wonder where she gets all that brattiness from."

"I'm hanging up on you now." 

"No! No no," Mel laughed. "At least give me the details about tomorrow!"

Kurt sighed out a laugh as he took the fresh drink from the waiter with a smile. "His first game is at 10:30 am. If they win, the game for 1st and 2nd place is at 2:00 pm. If they lose, the game for 3rd and 4th is at noon." 

"North Meadow still?"

"No," Kurt laughed. "It's the championship so they get to play where the big boys play at Rumsey Field, off of Terrace." 

"Gotcha. Well, I guess I'll see you in the morning, then." 

"Bye honey." 

******

Liam's football game was already underway when Mel made it to the field the next morning. 

"Hey!" Mel called as she hurried up the metal bleachers to where Kurt and Carole were sitting with Sophie. All three of them were bundled tight with steaming cups of Starbucks. Kurt held out a cup for her as well. "Oh god, thank you! Sorry I'm late." 

"That's okay," Carole said as Mel plopped down next to the two of them, Sophie a few rows behind them. Burt, Blaine, and Sam were standing down by the fence. "He just went in a few minutes ago." 

"Oh good, how are they doing?" Mel asked, taking a sip of her not quite hot but still very warm latte. "How many yards have they gained?"

"Yeah, I have no idea," Kurt said matter-of-factly. "I keep my eye on Liam and look to Blaine every now and then. If he gives me a thumbs up, things are good, thumbs down...well, you get the picture." 

Mel laughed as Kurt gestured to the field, pointing out Liam's number. She turned and glanced at Sophie behind them. She was scrolling through the phone with her earbuds in, completely ignoring all three of them. "So, what's up with Miss Anti-Social back there? She still mad at me from last night?"

"No, now she's mad at me."

Mel snorted out a laugh and nudged him with her shoulder. "What did you do?" 

Kurt shrugged. "I merely suggested the [boots](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979391093610/) she was wearing had a heel that could get stuck in the mud, and maybe she should change since we were going to be at the park all day."

Mel covered her face with her hand and leaned into Carole's side next to her as they both tried not to laugh. Sophie crossed her legs to show them she'd worn the boots anyway and pointedly ignored them, staring at her phone. 

It was halftime before Rachel made it to the park, straight from a voice lesson.

"I brought fresh hot chocolate!" she sang, passing out the cups and asking where the kids were. 

Kurt pointed to where Nick and Maddie were throwing a ball around with Sam and Rachel's dog, Popsicle. "Emma took them to play." 

Rachel smiled as she watched Nick run around with Maddie, Emma watching over both of them. "I brought them some vegan cookies, but I guess they'll come over when they're hungry." She offered the bag around and Sophie took one with a small smile. "So, what are we talking about?" 

Kurt laughed and nudged Mel. "Mel was just telling us that Luke brought up the "M" word at dinner last night, again!" 

"Ooooo," Rachel cooed, patting Mel's crossed leg with a giggle. 

Mel rolled her eyes as they clapped again at what appeared to be a good call...Blaine was giving them the thumbs up at any rate. "He brings it up every now and then...we still haven't taken the plunge yet, so there's that. I just don't see the need, we act like a married couple already....why change anything?" 

"Why not?" Carole asked. "I mean, why not make it official? Not that you have to, or that it means any less or more whether you do or don't....but the tax break alone was enough for us." 

"Yeah, you can say that, except I was there Miss Stars in her Eyes at the thought of being Mrs. Burt Hummel!" Kurt teased as Rachel laughed next to her and Sophie hid a giggle behind her hand. 

"Maybe I just really wanted you to plan my entire wedding for me!" Carole shot back with a chuckle. "I just sat back and showed up! You had everything done when I got there." 

"That is true..." Kurt said lofting his chin with fake airiness. "I do plan a damn fine wedding. And I'd be available for you, too."

Mel rolled her eyes and bumped their shoulders together again. 

"I honestly can't believe you and Blaine never had the big vow renewal ceremony, Kurt..." Rachel announced with a small smile. "Do it up all real nice with just the two of you where you can plan the whole thing." 

Kurt shrugged as his eyes followed his son running down the field with the rest of his team. "I mean, we talked about it a few times. We almost did it once, right after SCOTUS voted the pro-marriage bill, but it was just a few months after we'd gotten married and just seemed a little soon."

Mel nodded as the four of them looked down to Sam, Blaine, and Burt who were all giving them thumbs up at the play so they would clap. 

Once everyone had calmed down, Kurt sighed again. "As crazy as that day was, our wedding day that is, I don't think I would change it for anything...even now. I love the memory, just as it is." 

Carole reached over to squeeze his knee.

"It wasn't perfect...but then again, nothing back then was." 

Rachel nodded along with him. She remembered better than most how sad Kurt was back then, and how hard he worked when he and Blaine finally got back together for good. 

"We were so obsessed with the perfect wedding...we tended to forget about making the perfect marriage, and how hard it would be to make it all work." Kurt paused as Mel sighed next to him. "I needed my marriage to work, more than I needed a big wedding...and in the end, I got to say 'I do' to the man I love." 

Rachel and Mel nodded with watery smiles as Carole leaned over to rub Kurt's back a few times. 

Behind them, Sophie pulled one earbud away and smiled at her big crazy family, pushing the earbud back in before anyone saw and flipping her sunglasses back down on her face to secretly watch the game instead of her phone. 

*****

"Third place in your entire league!!" Kurt cried as Liam showed his Papa the trophy and Kurt nuzzled his chin on the top of his son's head, all the while weary of his dirty uniform. "We're so proud of you bud!" 

"Yeah we are!" Blaine called as he walked up with Maddie on his shoulders. "You played two great games today, jellybelly!" 

"Daaaaaaaaad," Liam moaned at the old nickname his dad refused to drop. He'd already gotten kissed by his Grammy and Aunt Mel in front of the whole team, did his dad have to call him such a babyish nickname too? 

Kurt and Blaine both laughed as they waved goodbye to Rachel, Sam, and Nick. 

"You guys hungry? Papa is starving!" Kurt said as he led the way to where they had parked earlier that morning, helping Liam lug his gear. 

"Are we going home?" Maddie squeaked from Blaine's shoulders as Kurt remote unlocked their seven passenger Volvo and stashed all the gear in the hatchback while the kids climbed in and got buckled up. 

"Yeah," Blaine answered. Sophie helped Maddie with the seat belt over her booster seat and Blaine closed the door behind them. "How about we go home so Liam can shower...we'll order a few pizzas for dinner." 

"Uggh, we had pizza last night at the sleepover," Liam moaned as Blaine started the car and pulled away from the curb. "Can we get something else?" 

"Whoa!" Kurt cried, turning around to look at him. "Liam the pizza monster wants something different? Call the presses!" 

"Haha, very funny Papa..." Liam rolled his eyes. "Can I get a shelf in my room for my trophy?"

"Of course!" Blaine called with Kurt nodding next to him.

"Our son the football star," Kurt beamed with pride. "Who'da thunk it?" 

Blaine laughed. "Hey, I may watch the sport, but you're the one who played it!" 

"Pops, you played football?" Sophie piped up from the backseat. 

"Heck yes, he did!" Blaine cried, with Kurt shaking his head and covering his eyes. "He was the kicker!

"Cool!" Liam said. "Did you ever watch him play, Dad?" 

"No," Kurt interrupted when Blaine opened his mouth to answer. "It was before Dad and I met."

"Oh I may not have been there, but I've seen the video Aunt Rachel put on YouTube!" 

"BLAINE!" 

"OOooooo!!" All three kids cried as Blaine started giggling. 

"There's a video?!" Sophie cried. 

"Can we watch it?" Liam asked, as Maddie nodded enthusiastically next to him.

"Yeah, can we watch it?"

"Oh god..." Kurt mumbled, as Blaine started flipping his hand back and forth, singing Single Ladies under his breath. 

"Hey kids," Kurt called with over exaggerated cheeriness. "Who wants Daddy to sleep with them tonight?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! As always, come say hi on tumblr [!](notthatbea.tumblr.com)


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole lot can change in just one year…a new house, a new school, a new baby?? Just think of what can change in almost 10 years!?! One thing is for sure–Kurt, Blaine, and their children will never take this walk through life alone. They will always have each other, and the family they surround themselves with.  
>  _Walk on, walk on…with hope in your heart…and you’ll never walk alone. You’ll never walk alone.-Carousel_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These last two chapters before the epilogue are several little stories (well, some longer in certain cases), glimpses if you will, as we sail through the next few years. Each story is dated, and starts with a text conversation between the family that precedes what is explained in the story to give you a little background information. 
> 
> Major thanks to @whitesheepcbd for all her beta skills and support!

_March 2036_

_Blaine to (Husband <3) Hey babe, don't forget we have that meeting with Maddie's teacher after her lesson today. See you then :*_

Blaine washed his hands after he'd finished his late lunch and put his dishes in the dishwasher. He flipped through the iPad on the wall to check the schedule for the rest of the afternoon. Lydia, their house manager, was shopping. Kurt was picking up Liam from his tutoring session on his way home from work, and Sophie had texted a while ago, saying she was shopping with a few friends but would be home in time for dinner. He smiled when he heard music start up after twenty minutes of scales. 

The duoing instruments rang out and accompanied him as he finished the small amount of chores around the house. When they had been practicing for just under an hour, Blaine went upstairs and stood in the doorway.

Ella, Maddie's cello teacher, was giving the young girl gentle encouragements and corrections as they both played, but Maddie's face was etched in concentration as she focused on the piece they were practicing, her eyes never moving from the stand in front of them as she nodded along to what Ella was telling her and trying to keep her posture as correct as possible. 

Blaine's heart ached a little for her. His mind went back to all the hours his mom made him practice piano, often when he wanted to be doing other things. He was grateful now, that he had those skills...but he sometimes wondered if they were at the expense of some of his childhood.

He didn't want Maddie to ever feel that, he didn't want any of his kids to feel pressured into doing something just because they were good at it...but Maddie came alive when she played. 

Kurt and Blaine had started Maddie in music class, just like they did with their other kids, before she was even old enough to walk. Music was just a part of their daily life...a natural progression to their days. 

However, unlike her siblings, who enjoyed music but never showed much of an interest beyond just listening, Maddie thrived. 

Even as a baby, she would sit at the piano with Blaine for an hour, just watching him play, or sitting on his lap and holding her fingers over his as he moved them over the ivory keys. As a preschooler, he started to notice she could pick out little tunes and play them back to him.

They decided to get her some private tutoring right away. 

When she was four, one of her music teachers put a small violin in her hand. She didn't have the dexterity to hold it or play the instrument properly, but she was fascinated nonetheless, especially when her teacher would help her pull the bow across the strings to draw notes of sound into the air. 

Blaine was the one to suggest the cello when she was five. 

Kurt had to laugh when she first sat behind the giant of an [instrument](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979391207999/), even though it was sized for her, but Maddie was enthralled...and by the end of the lesson could easily move through several scales and was mastering songs after only a handful of lessons. 

They hired an instructor to come to her two days a week. 

Suddenly Blaine was pulled from his thoughts as the final sounds of Ella and Maddie's bows across the strings rang out and Ella praised Maddie for her hold. Blaine shook himself free from his memories and smiled as he clapped. Maddie's head shot up and her face broke into a grin. 

"Daddy!" she called excitedly. "Come play with us, please? We need some accompaniment!" 

Blaine looked at Ella who nodded while she smiled, telling him it was fine. "We're almost done, play our last song with us?" 

Blaine got situated at his baby grand piano behind them and ran his fingers over the keys to play a few scales to warm up. 

"What shall we play for our last piece, Miss Madeline?" Ella asked. "We have to play something your dad knows, we don't have any sheet music..."

Maddie screwed up her face slightly before she broke out in a grin again and sat forward a little. "Bach's Prelude!" she called. "Daddy and I play that sometimes, he knows it and I have the music on my stand." 

"That's a pretty hard one, are you sure you wanna do that for our cool down?" Maddie nodded excitedly and Blaine chuckled and started the opening notes before falling quiet so Ella and Maddie could start. 

"Just follow along Maddie, pay attention to your fingering and watch for mine if you get lost."

Blaine got lost in the music much like his young daughter did, but today he kept his eyes on Maddie's smiling face. Maddie lit up like a Christmas tree and moved her bow effortlessly throughout the piece. 

"Excellent young padawan, excellent," Blaine sang as he steepled his fingers and Kurt laughed from where he had snuck in to watch them perform their last song. 

Maddie blushed at all the concentrated attention, but then stood up to bow and pointed to Blaine and Ella so they would bow as well, all while Kurt clapped and they all laughed and Maddie ran into his arms for a hug. 

Kurt helped her pack away the large instrument and straighten her music while they chatted. 

"Okay honey, Lydia is downstairs making dinner," Kurt said, tucking a strand of long blonde hair behind Maddie's ear. "Why don't you go down and see if she needs help, make sure to help Liam set the table." 

Maddie nodded and thanked Ella before walking downstairs. Kurt pointed to the couch and waited until Ella was situated before he sat in the chair opposite from Blaine, squeezing his hand once in practiced hello, giving Ella a small smile before she started speaking. 

"So, I wanted to meet with you both today to talk a little about Madeline's future."

Blaine and Kurt shared a small look before Blaine nodded for Ella to continue. She smiled timidly before taking a breath and continuing. "I'd like to recommend her for a third tier position at The New York Conservatory of Music. I have a professor who is interested in hearing her audition, and...." Ella paused and placed her twined fingers in her lap. "She's an incredibly talented young girl. At eight years old she can play circles around most of my ten and eleven year old pupils. I really think that with the concentrated guidance the Conservatory can give her, she will go further than I could ever take her, alone." 

Kurt sighed as he looked over at Blaine and he nodded. Kurt turned back to Ella and smiled softly. "We’ve talked to her a little about joining a program. She always seems like..."

Blaine shook his head. "She never seems like it's something she wants to pursue, and we never want to push her to do something she doesn’t want to do."

Ella nodded with a worried look on her face. "My concern is that Maddie's fears are...more of the unknown than of not wanting to do something. I think she really wants to, but she's scared of what trying would entail."

Kurt sighed but tilted his head and gave her a half shrug, half nod. Blaine started to say something but Ella continued and he let her speak. 

"I really and honestly think that joining the Conservatory will help to bring her out of her shell a little, help her see what this world is about and also prepare her for... really, if I'm being completely honest, this is just a step to The Royal Conservatory at Carnegie Hall, which she could be ready for in the next two years. The youngest they will let audition is ten, and I absolutely think it's possible for her to be ready to audition, and get in, in two years." 

Blaine and Kurt shared another look before Blaine sat forward a little. "I agree...I think we're just worried about pushing her too hard so it gets to the point where we are forcing her to do something she doesn't really want to do anymore." 

Ella smiled. "Well, I mean some pressure can be a good thing. Pushing her to try new things can be very good for her. There is a major difference between pushing, and being pushy. Believe me, I've seen all kinds of pushy/stage type parents, and if I really and truly thought that Maddie was unhappy, I would tell you and we could figure something else out." 

Kurt and Blaine shared another quiet look and Blaine sighed as Ella set a packet with the NYCoM seal across the top and reached over for her cello case. 

"There's a two week summer camp program in June that I work every year. I think if we show her what it could be like, she might feel a little more comfortable about giving it a try. And I'll be there, so she'll have a familiar face, even if it's not one on one the whole time. If she likes it, there is a second one in July and then we can talk about the coming school year." 

Kurt picked up the packet as the three of them stood up to walk Ella to the door. "We'll talk to Maddie about it, see what she says, and let you know." 

"Of course, thank you for meeting with me."

"Thank you, for telling us and expressing so much interest in her," Blaine said as they shook hands and shut the door behind her. 

******

That night, after dinner, Kurt and Blaine went up to Maddie's room together, the packet of forms with them as they sat her down to talk to her. At first she was resistant, as they had expected her to be. 

"But, why can't I just keep playing with Miss Ella, here at home?"

Kurt leaned over and took her hand in his. "You can, honey," he assured her. "You absolutely can. This camp is just an extension of your lessons, to get instruction from other teachers and be with other kids who love to play, just like you do."

"And Miss Ella will be there, too," Blaine told her and kissed her temple. "But if you really, really don't want to....we won't force you. Papa and I both think it could be fun, though, and it's totally up to you." 

Maddie thought about it for a few minutes. "But, what if I do it, and then I decide I don't like it?" she asked. 

Kurt looked at Blaine over Maddie's head and they both nodded. "If you really hate it, after you give it a real chance...you don't have to go back."

Maddie nodded again as Blaine piped up next to her. "We just want you to try it, bean...that's all. Just try it."

**One Year Later**

_April 2037_

_Kurt to (My Love)- Hey, looks like we may have to break our "no cell phones before age 10" rule. Lydia just called and said she's been waiting outside the Conservatory for almost half an hour and still no Maddie. If she had a phone maybe she could let us all know when/if she is going to be late and we can plan accordingly._

"Liam!" Kurt scolded. "Stop fidgeting. You are kicking the chair in front of you." 

Liam gave his Papa a sheepish glance and mumbled an apology to the woman in front of him when his dad nudged him with the "manners" look. 

"We've already been here for forever and Maddie hasn't even played yet!" he sulked and crossed his arms. He was so bored with the same music over and over...at least that's what it sounded like to him. 

Blaine leaned over Sophie's lap and gave Liam a stern look. "Listen son," he said and Liam shrank back a little. His dad didn't usually make his voice sound like that. "Do you know how many games and tournaments your sister has been to for you? A lot. You can sit through a few hours of music, this is a huge thing for her." 

Sophie gave him a smug look and Gramp clapped his shoulder gently from where he and Gram were sitting behind them with Lola and Grandpa Andrew. He rolled his eyes at his sister, but stayed still as the lights dimmed again and a new group of people took the stage. 

"Maddie is up next," Kurt whispered, as Liam and Sophie nodded. The two of them quieted as a group of young people with violins started playing. They clapped politely, twenty minutes later, as the group took their bows and exited the small stage. 

Maddie's instructor at the Conservatory took the stage and introduced herself as Mariam Cuff. 

"It is my pleasure to introduce our next very talented performer, a cellist. This young lady came to us last year and in just that short amount of time has proven to all of us that we are merely a stepping stone on the grand path she has for the musical world. We are very pleased to have her play her first solo, of many we are sure, with us this afternoon."

Blaine reached for Kurt's hand and squeezed tightly. 

"Please welcome to the stage, Madeline Anderson-Hummel, and her accompanist Baron Child, playing Franz Liszt, Liebestraum."

Kurt held his breath and his husband's hand as Maddie walked out and set her cello in front of her, draped her [dress](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324399979391208062/) and poised her bow on the strings, waiting for the pianist. She blew out a careful breath and closed her eyes before she began to play. 

Blaine and Kurt sat in awe. They'd heard the music hundreds of times. Maddie had practiced at least five times a day since the day, three months before, when she'd run in to tell them she'd been given a solo spot in the end of year recital...but this was something different. This was Madeline in performance mode, something they'd rarely seen from her. 

After she'd left the room, Blaine touched Kurt's arm and whispered carefully. "They don't do that." 

"What do you mean?"

Blaine closed his eyes and composed himself. "Give solos to the young performers. They play in a group always, until they are trained enough to play on their own...they gave her a solo and she is barely 9 years old." 

Kurt had widened his eyes and they both turned to where the music was wafting from upstairs. 

Maddie had gotten increasingly more nervous the closer they got to the day of her recital. She practiced day and night, her dad accompanying her on the piano behind her. She sat as her Papa pinned her long blonde hair up in an expert bun and shook with nervousness the morning of, and she willed herself not to cry as the two of them walked away from her before the recital began. 

But as the music rang out in the open theater, she was the picture of calm. Her eyes closed, so focused on the music, nothing in the world could pull her from her concentration. 

And at the end, when she pulled her bow across the strings one last time and the beautiful music she'd made began to fade away, she looked up in shock as the room erupted in another kind of noise. 

Applause. 

Blaine passed a tissue to both Kurt and Sophie, as the entire group of them stood with the rest of the audience and Maddie laughed, the nervousness returning as she stood as well to take her bow. 

"Well bud," Burt said to Liam, as Maddie walked off the stage with Baron and things quieted down again. "Looks as though you might need to get used to sitting through these things. Doesn't look like that girl's goin' anywhere but up."

Liam nodded and shrugged. "She was pretty good."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_March 2037_

_Sophie to [group](Pop, Dad-o, Liam, Baby Sister) Yay! Maddie gets a phone means she is officially in all of our group texts. Get ready for some crazy little sister :P_

_Liam to [group] (Papa, Daddd, Soap, Maddie) Yeah cause you startt it. take my advice Mads, blcok her. ur life will be much simplr._

_Sophie to [group](Pop, Dad-o, Little Brother, Baby Sister) Shut it, Liam {image attached}_

_Kurt to [group](My love, Eldest Child, Middlest Child, Youngest Child) Sophia Elizabeth!_

_Blaine to [group](Husband <3, Monster, Jellybelly, Bean) SOPHIA! _

_Liam to [group] (Papa, Daddd, Soap, Maddie) Haha._

_Maddie to [group](Papa, Daddy, Sophie, Liam) Oooo I like that nail polish Sophie. Can I borrow it?_

_Sophie to [group](Pop, Dad-o, Little Brother, Baby Sister) Sure!_

_Liam to [group] (Papa, Daddd, Soap, Maddie) U cant see it but Im rolling my eyes._

Liam waited until the last possible moment, sitting on his bed and watching out the window. His dad had been at the theater all night and usually got home around eleven. Papa went to bed long before that, and Maddie's light had been off since nine. He hadn't seen Sophie since after dinner, but her bedroom was a floor up from his, she shouldn’t be a problem. As soon as his dad came home, he would wait until the house got quiet again, and then make his escape. 

Bray Collins' parents were out of town and he'd invited a bunch of kids over to play video games and eat junk with no parents around to make them stop...word had quickly gotten around and now a bunch of girls were coming over too, but it was a Wednesday night. He knew there was no way his dads would have let him go out so late on a school night, so he didn't even ask. 

He would just sneak out, stay at Bray's for a few hours to keep his rep intact, then sneak back in to pretend he was sick and stay home from school to sleep. He smiled when he thought about a whole day in bed with their house manager, Lydia, bringing him soup and his Papa bringing home banana gelato like he always did when one of them was sick. 

He heard a car on the street and looked down to see his dad climbing out of a black town car and shutting the door. He hurried into bed and was covered completely when he heard his door open a few minutes later, then pull to almost closed after his dad was assured he was in bed and asleep. 

He laid there still and quiet as he listened to his dad check on Maddie, then go upstairs to Sophie, then back down the stairs to his and Papa's bedroom. He checked his phone to mark the time and fire off a text to his friend Colten, who was meeting him a few blocks away. 

_D just got here_

_waiting for him to crash then be there_

He carefully sat up and pulled on his shoes. It was cold for October, so he buttoned up his coat and pulled a beanie on his head. He made sure his phone was completely off. All he needed was it making a sound while he was trying to sneak past his dad's bedroom. Then waited another ten minutes to make sure everyone was really asleep. 

Finally he stood up and rearranged his bed to look like someone was in it, rolled his eyes and knew it wouldn’t fool anyone...but just in case, and tiptoed to his slightly ajar door and pushed it open. The house was quiet. There was no light coming from either hall, upstairs or down. He carefully walked to the stairs and started down. 

His dads' floor was dark and smelled like a mix of their cologne and body wash. His dad must have taken a shower before going to bed. 

This is the hard part, Liam thought to himself as he rounded the corner as quietly as he could. The door to their bedroom was closed and the light was off, but the fear of one of them walking out at any moment was enough to make him quiet as a mouse as he started down the stairs to the main floor. 

He took a deep breath as his foot hit the last step and he walked toward the door in the dark. He should go down one more floor to the garden door, but then he ran the risk of waking Lydia, who slept lighter than his dads. 

His fingers reached up to punch in the code to turn off the alarm when a voice rang out and he froze. 

"Whatcha doin'?" 

He twirled around just as a lamp switched on and Sophie was sitting in the chair in the foyer, her legs crossed and giving him a triumphant glare. 

_"What are you doing?"_ he hissed, not moving from the door. 

Sophie shrugged and crossed her arms. "I heard you on the phone earlier. I swear, if you are gonna be a delinquent, at least learn how to do it properly." 

Liam rolled his eyes and balled his fists. Of course she would stick her nose in his business. "Stay out of this, Sophie," he warned her. 

"Nah, I think I'll stay right in this, actually," she nodded. "Again I ask, what are you doing?" 

Liam shook his head and walked over to her so she would at least keep her voice down; she was going to wake the whole damn house. "I'm going to Bray's house, not that big of a deal. I just knew dads would never let me on a school night." 

Sophie looked at him carefully before she uncurled herself from the chair and sat forward a little. "You know that the alarm will chirp when you disarm it."

Liam shook his head with a cheeky grin. "I disabled the chirp and the blinking yesterday, it's not that hard to do. I'll be out and back before dads even wake up." 

"What happens if you get caught while you're out there? This may be New York, but I'm pretty sure someone is going to notice two twelve year old kids out past midnight on a Wednesday." 

"Bray's house is just a few blocks away, it's really not that big of a deal." 

Sophie dropped her hands and stood up face him. "Look Liam, this is really stupid...like quite possibly the stupidest thing you've ever done, and that's really saying something," she paused as Liam crossed his arms and gave her a dirty look. "But I'm not going to rat you out."

"Really?"

Sophie nodded and shrugged. "Really. But I am going to warn you...if you do this, and get caught, that's it. You've lost their trust," she paused and shook her head. "And it takes a long, long time to get it back." 

Liam looked at her carefully. 

"You can't do anything. You can't go anywhere without a million questions, phone calls to parents, and constant supervision. It'll drive you nuts," she said shaking her head. "And the look of disappointment on both of their faces...." She trailed off and shook her head again. "I promise you, it's not worth it. It's not even a little bit worth it." 

"You know from experience?" he asked, and Sophie nodded. 

"Like I said, I'm not going to rat you out...but just," she paused and put a hand on his shoulder. "Just really think about it before you do anything. Right now they trust you...don't throw that away." 

With that she rounded the corner to go down to the kitchen. Liam stood there for a while, debating it back and forth in his head. Finally he sighed and pulled out his phone as he started to walk back upstairs to his bedroom. 

_stupid sister busted me—_

_in for the night I guess._

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_August 2037_

_Sophie to [group](Pop, Dad-o, Little Brother, Baby Sister) Daaaaaaaaaads Liam and I are starving and there's no food in this entire house!_

_Kurt to [group](My love, Eldest Child, Middlest Child, Youngest Child) Sophia, I just went shopping yesterday, the fridge is stocked with food._

_Liam to [group] (Papa, Daddd, Soap, Maddie) but you have to cook everything! Please dads we're sooo hungry_

_Blaine to [group](Husband <3, Monster, Jellybelly, Bean) We are on our way home now. We'll be there soon. _

_Sophie to [group](Pop, Dad-o, Little Brother, Baby Sister) BRING PIZZA!!_

_Liam to [group] (Papa, Daddd, Soap, Maddie) Please?!?!_

_Maddie to [group] (Sophie, Liam) I talked them into it, don't worry!_

_Sophie to [group] (Little Brother, Baby Sister) WAY TO GO MADDIE!!_

Blaine loved Sunday mornings...Kurt staying in bed with him with no alarm clock blaring them out of their cocoon, talking...or not talking. Brunch with Burt and Carole and all the kids home because they know Sunday is family day. Blueberry pancakes and time to let their French press coffee maker actually do its job without rushing to get out the door. He'd long ago let his understudy take both Sunday shows. Unless he was in something new, he was home Sundays with his family. 

Saturdays tended to be rushed like the rest of the week. Errands that needed to be ran, scheduling who needed to be where and at what time. Liam's game at 10:30 am or a performance of Maddie's and show for Sophie...their weeks could get so hectic and rushed, and Saturdays always felt like an extension of that same week. 

That Saturday in early October was no exception, especially since Kurt was facing a major deadline and needed to work all day and Blaine was speaking at a panel for career day at Sophie's school. Maddie had workshops at the Conservatory all morning and Mel was going with her for support since neither Kurt or Blaine could go.

Liam had chosen to spend his free Saturday at home, which Blaine releneted as long as he promised to leave Papa alone and not get too loud. 

Blaine and Sophie met up with Mel and Maddie around 1:00 pm. Maddie told him excitedly about her morning and Blaine thanked Mel profusely for helping out. 

"No problem," she told him, hugging both of the girls in turn before pressing a quick kiss into Blaine's cheek. "Anytime I get to spend with my girls is a good time."

It was another hour or so before the three of them made it home. After Mel had headed off, he decided he was long overdue for a lunch with his daughters, and took them to Almond for salads and pastries. 

Kurt was standing in the kitchen sipping a cup of coffee when they walked in. Sophie and Maddie said hi to him before heading upstairs to their bedrooms. They each had plans that night and both Kurt and Blaine were looking forward to a quiet night, just the two of them. 

Kurt was talking to Blaine about the two of them taking a quick trip to his loft in Brooklyn for a few hours to show Blaine some of the personal pieces he was working on that weren't for the line he was creating, when Blaine's phone rang.

"Coop?" Blaine said and he looked at the screen of his phone and slid the call open. 

Kurt watched as Blaine's face slowly fell and he lifted his hand to his face. 

"Blaine," he asked. "What? What is it?" 

Blaine dropped the hand holding the phone to his ear and looked at his husband. "It's my dad." 

******

Kurt nodded along with, what felt like, the fiftieth relative of Blaine and Cooper's. He sipped the glass of water in his hand and gave them what he knew they needed, to accept their condolences. It's what everyone wants when they come to a funeral. He was tired, and emotionally spent after the past few days...but he played the part he knew he needed to play with everyone he didn't know. But not with Blaine, with Blaine he played the only role that mattered...the man who loved him. 

He made sure Blaine ate, that he had a hand to hold during the difficult times, and a shoulder to cry with when nobody else was around. He made sure the kids were taken care of, made sure Lena didn't take on too much, and that he hugged his dad as many times as he could. 

Suddenly he realized he hadn't seen Blaine in a while, and he began to panic a little. 

He looked over the shoulder of Cooper and Blaine's great Aunt so-and-so and locked eyes with Sam across the room. Sam, seeming to know what Kurt was asking with his eyes, shrugged and shook his head. 

Kurt didn't even wait for a pause in the conversation before he excused himself. "I'm sorry, I need to find my husband. Please excuse me." 

He looked around the room as he walked to the kitchen where he found Carole and Lena. 

"Seems like the last of the stragglers are starting to dissipate." They both turned to him and nodded. "Has anyone seen Blaine?" 

Liam and Maddie walked in the kitchen with Nick behind them. 

"We saw him go upstairs a little while ago," Liam told him. 

Kurt nodded as he kissed the top of Maddie's head and walked toward the door again. "Can you guys give Gram and Lola a hand in here, please? I'll be back down to help as soon as I find your Dad." 

All three kids nodded again as Kurt walked out and toward the stairs. He passed the living room and saw Cooper and his girlfriend Andrea talking to the last few people still hanging around. He sighed and took the stairs carefully, feeling almost uneasy. He rarely went upstairs at Andrew's house. 

Even when they would come visit Andrew, the house was too small for them to stay any length of time so they would visit for the day, or Andrew would come to them wherever they were. Like his own parents, Andrew came to New York more often than they came here to Ohio. 

He found his husband a few moments later in one of the two bedrooms upstairs, going through some old boxes. 

"Hey honey," he said softly as Blaine looked up. "I looked up and you were gone...you okay?" 

Blaine shrugged. He set down the papers he was looking through and made room on the twin bed for Kurt to sit down next to him. 

"I don't really feel any connection to this house," Blaine said after a few long moments. Kurt reached over and took his hand. "I mean, my parents separated when I was a teenager. I lived with mom and occasionally visited my dad..." he trailed off and sighed. "I was still so angry with him after the divorce, and everything we went through before they split up. I knew he wanted me to come here, but I never really did."

Kurt didn’t say anything...Blaine didn't really need him to, he just needed him to listen for a while. 

"I have so many more memories tied to mom's, even with him."

Kurt reached over and rubbed Blaine's back a little. "Of course you do, that's where you grew up."

Blaine nodded but took a deep breath. "Cooper wants to buy me out. He wants the house."

Kurt didn't say anything but nodded. 

"But I kinda just want to give it to him...would that be okay?" Blaine looked up at Kurt with a pleading look. 

"Of course it's okay," Kurt rushed to answer him. "Whatever you want to do, we'll do." 

Blaine was quiet again for a few moments. "We don't need it...and I don't want it."

Kurt nodded again and rubbed his hand up and down Blaine's back. "You and Maddie sounded incredible this morning," he said after clearing his throat a little. "I was a little worried about her at first, but I should have known that she, like you, needed to work out some of her emotions through her music." 

Blaine stayed quiet and leaned into Kurt's touch, he bit his lip before he finally locked eyes with his husband and Kurt could see them filling with unshed tears.

"Oh honey," Kurt murmured, before pulling Blaine into his arms. 

Kurt held him as they both cried. Blaine for his dad, and Kurt because the man he loved was hurting so much. Blaine buried his face into Kurt's neck and took deep breaths, trying and failing to calm himself down.

"Tell me I'm a good man," Blaine pleaded into Kurt's shoulder. Kurt pulled him back and searched his face as Blaine continued, "Tell me I'm a good father...that's all he wanted from me, tell me I did him proud?" 

"Blaine," Kurt breathed, letting a tiny sob go and cupping his hands on Blaine's face. "You are the best man I have ever known, and you are an amazing father. You made your dad so proud, just by being you." 

"I miss him so much."

Kurt nodded. "I know you do, baby. I do too." 

Blaine's lip quivered as he let Kurt press a chaste kiss against it, then allowed himself to be wrapped up in his husband in the room that was never home...because Kurt was always his home.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_January 2038_

_Maddie to [group](Papa, Dad) Um, dads...somethings wrong with Sophie. She came home and went right to bed and it's only 4. I asked her if she was sick and she said no but I don't believe her._

_Kurt to [group] (My Love, Youngest Child) We know, honey. She'll be okay, just be extra nice to her for a few days. She'll be back to regular Sophie when she's ready._

_Blaine to (Husband <3) I despise that delinquent._

_Kurt to (My Love) Me too._

_Liam to [group] (Papa, Daddd) We're out of ice cream_

_Maddie to [group] (Papa, Dad) I asked her if she wanted me to play for her and she said no. So I made her some tea and laid in bed with her for a while. We took a nap until Liam got home._

_Liam to [group] (Papa, Daddd] Also buy eggs cause I'm gonna use all ours egging Julian's house._

_Kurt to [group] (My Love, Middlest Child) Liam Devon, don't you Dare!_

_Blaine to (Husband <3) If you need me I'll be with Liam, egging Julian's house._

_Kurt to (My Love) Not funny, Blaine._

A typical Friday night for Kurt and Blaine usually involved some kind of excursion. The after party of Blaine's current performance, dinner with friends at the newest restaurant Kurt had to make three phone calls to get a reservation for, tickets to...somewhere. The kids were older now, they had plans of their own on Friday nights. Sunday was family day, Friday was play day. 

This Friday night however, found Kurt and Blaine curled up on their family room couch watching old reruns on The Food Network. It had been a long week and both Blaine and Liam had been down with colds. Liam had long since retired to his room and his game system for the evening, promising his Papa he would take his medicine before going to bed and that he wouldn't stay up too late. 

Maddie was off at a friend's house and Sophie had a date with Julian, her boyfriend of the past few months. 

"Did I ever tell you I attempted making Paella when I was about 9 years old?" Kurt asked as they watched two competitors battle it out for the best meal of the night. He rubbed his hand across Blaine's chest where his head was resting, smiling when he felt Blaine shaking with laughter. 

"I'm sure Burt was all kinds of thrilled with that...how did it turn out?" 

Kurt huffed. "I was nine! How do you think it turned out? The kitchen barely recovered." 

Baine full-on belly laughed at that, and leaned down to press a kiss into his husband's hair when they both heard the garden door slam and saw Sophie walk into the kitchen. 

"Hey Soph," Kurt called, sitting up a little as Blaine straightened his back and looked over as well. Sophie stopped on her way to the stairs and walked back toward them a little but stopped in the kitchen. "Whatcha doin' home so early? Didn't you and Julian have a date tonight?" 

Sophie shrugged as she poured herself a glass of water from the spout on the fridge and took long pulls of it. 

"Soph? Honey, what's wrong?" 

She set her glass down on the marble top counter with a soft clunk and looked up at them. They could see she'd been crying. "Julian..." She drifted off before shrugging and biting her lip. "We broke up." 

"Oh baby..." Kurt said as Blaine motioned for her to come sit next to them. She sighed as she sat between them, biting her lip and finally letting go as she curled into Blaine's neck and cried while Kurt rubbed her back soothingly. 

"I don't think he...I don't think he ever really loved me," she mumbled into her dad's shoulder with another harsh sob. 

"Hey," Kurt whispered, muting the TV and pulling Sophie so he could look into her red-rimmed eyes and kissing her forehead. "You, my darling girl, are worth loving." Blaine squeezed her shoulder and nodded. "And if he didn’t love you the way you deserve to be loved, than he wasn't the one for you, okay?" 

Sophie sniffed and nodded as Blaine kissed the side of her shoulder and shrugged. "I never liked him anyway." 

Sophie blurted out a watery laugh before pushing him away. "Dad, you never like anyone I date!" 

Kurt gave him a warning look. They had learned long ago not to talk down about their kids' significant others and close friends, they very often ended up having to eat their words later. Blaine just shrugged at both of them. "Papa's right, honey."

"That's so easy for you to say," Sophie protested with an almost bitter laugh. "You met the love of your life in high school! Do you know how hard it is to have parents that are high school sweethearts?" 

Blaine laughed as he dropped his head and sighed. Looking back up at Kurt in a wink that said—You explain it to her. 

"You constantly scrutinize every single relationship...what if this is it? What if they are the one? It's exhausting. Do you know how many times I've heard your love story?" She paused and they both nodded. "I'm seventeen years old and I can't help but feel like I'm not doing something...like something isn't right, something just doesn't fit."

"Honey," Kurt started, closing his eyes with a chuckle. "Yes, Dad and I met and fell in love in high school...but that was far from the end of our story. We had to go through a lot more heartache and..." he paused and shook his head. "Life is never easy, my love. Your Dad and I went through a lot to end up where we are, we had to work really hard to protect our love from breaking. You have to find someone who wants to work as hard as you will, to protect everything you've built together...otherwise, it'll never work." 

Blaine gave his husband a look full of love as he continued to rub their oldest daughter's back. "But never forget, that you are worth someone working that hard for you," he told her, kissing her head again. "So never be afraid to ask for it." 

Sophie nodded as she sighed one last time. "I think I'm gonna go to bed. There's half a carton of cookie-dough ice cream I'm taking with me, so I can sleep this off." 

Kurt and Blaine nodded as they gave her one more hug and told her they loved her before she stood up, stopped for her ice cream and a spoon, and was off to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole lot can change in just one year…a new house, a new school, a new baby?? Just think of what can change in almost 10 years!?! One thing is for sure–Kurt, Blaine, and their children will never take this walk through life alone. They will always have each other, and the family they surround themselves with.
> 
> _Walk on, walk on…with hope in your heart…and you’ll never walk alone. You’ll never walk alone.-Carousel_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, this is it. Last full chapter. I'll post a short epilogue later tonight, then the entire masterpost later this week.   
> I'm going to get way too emotional so I'm just going to leave this at...Thank you. Thank you to everyone to commented, liked, reblogged, and sent me messages about this fic. I was so nervous about finally posting this story, but it has surpassed all my expectations and I love how much this little family is loved. 
> 
> Also, major thanks to my wonderful beta, @whitesheepcbd. 
> 
> As with the first of these last two chapters, we have several little stories (well, some longer in certain cases), glimpses if you will, as we sail through the next few years. Each story is dated, and starts with a text conversation between the family that precedes what is explained in the story to give you a little background information.

_March 2038_

_Kurt to [group](My love, Sophia, Liam, Maddie) Hey guys, I'm gonna go see dad's show tonight. Anybody want to come with me?_

_Maddie to [group](Papa, Daddy, Sophie, Liam) Can you pick me up from the conservatory? 515?_

_Liam to [group] (Papa, Daddd, Soap, Maddie) I was gonna go to Marks aftr school for dinr I'll be home by curfw._

_Kurt to [group](My love, Sophia, Liam, Maddie) That's fine Liam, curfew! Yes Maddie, I'll pick you up. Do you wanna come with me? We can grab a bite first <3 _

_Maddie to [group](Papa, Daddy, Sophie, Liam) Sure:) Red Mood for Sushi and warm noodles??_

_Kurt to [group](My love, Sophia, Liam, Maddie) That sounds good to me, I'll be there to pick you up in twenty._

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maddie sat on the floor inside her door, listening intently. 

Her Papa had been in his office when she'd gotten home from school. She'd walked by and waved, but he was on the phone, thankfully, and had just blown her a kiss on her way up to her bedroom. 

If he was suspicious about why she was home early, or was hiding in her room and not in the living room practicing, he didn’t let on. She'd sneaked into her room and locked the door behind her. 

She'd heard her Dad come home with Liam a few minutes ago...still she stayed in her bedroom with the door locked tight. 

Liam went straight to his room across the hall and didn’t bother her. 

She put her head in her hands, clutched her blue fuzzy pillow and sat on the floor next to her door for another twenty minutes before she finally heard her sister's voice. 

Cracking open her door, she caught Sophie texting as she rounded the hall on her way upstairs. 

"Soph!" she hissed. 

Sophie looked up from her phone. "Why are you on the floor, weirdo?" 

Maddie rolled her eyes and opened the door wider. "I need to talk to you." 

"Yeah Mads, I'm kinda in a hurry, can we talk later?" 

"NO!" she screeched, causing Sophie to turn and raise her eyebrows before ducking when Maddie threw the pillow she'd been clutching at her. 

"Okay..." Sophie said slowly, as she picked up the pillow and walked into her little sister's room, jumping when Maddie slammed and locked the door behind them and threw the pillow back on the bed. "What's gotten into you? Have you ever slammed the door in your life?" 

Maddie ignored her sister. She picked up the blue fuzzy pillow and crawled on her bed with her head down. 

Sophie cocked her hip and crossed her arms. "Madeline?" 

"Um..." Maddie stammered as she curled her legs up to her chest. "Well...something, happened today...at school." 

Sophie dropped her arms and walked over to the bed. "Maddie, what's up? What happened today at school?" 

Maddie looked up at her sister and sighed. "I got sent to the nurse today in gym." 

Sophie looked at her for a few moments. "Aaand?" 

Maddie bit her lip and shrugged. "I got my period." 

Sophie's eyes got big for just a moment before she caught herself and smiled. "Really?" 

Maddie threw herself down face first on the bed. "Sooooooph." 

"Maaaaaadie." Sophie mocked and laughed. 

Maddie groaned as she rolled over and Sophie climbed on top of her to pin her down to the bed. "My wittle baby sister has become a woman!" she cried, trying to kiss the side of Maddie's face, Maddie trying her best to bury herself under her blanket. 

"Leave me alone, you crazy person," Maddie mumbled. 

Sophie laughed as she tried to tickle Maddie through the blankets and popped her on the back a few times. "In all seriousness, Mads...sit up, I gotta talk to you." 

Maddie groaned again before pushing her older sister off of her so she could sit up. She brushed her long blonde hair from her face and sighed. 

Sophie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You know you have nothing to be ashamed of, or embarrassed about, right?" she asked. "This is a perfectly normal thing that some people deal with...nothing more, nothing less." 

Maddie picked up her pillow again and buried her face in it again before looking back at her sister. "It was embarrassing though, Soph," she argued. "We are fencing for gym and I was in the whole white get up...and..." 

Sophie chuckled as she pulled Maddie into her arms. "Yeah, that part sucks," she said. "But Dads will get you all the—" 

"Oh you're not gonna tell Dads, are you?" Maddie interrupted, before flopping back on her face again. "Can this day get any worse?" 

"Maddie, I have to tell them...you know that." 

She turned her head and sighed. "Were they cool when you told them?" 

Sophie snorted out a laugh. "Hey," she said, pointing to herself. "I'm the test kid, 'member?" 

Maddie nodded again and Sophie laughed even harder. "They read somewhere to throw a 'menstruation party.'" she used finger quotes and Maddie groaned, trying to pull the covers of her bed over her face. "They invited Mel and Ray and made a cake!" 

"Oh my gooooooood." 

Sophie continued laughing as she pulled the blankets down. "It was actually fun, in the end. A whole day about me!" 

Maddie glared at her sister and Sophie pushed on her arm. "Come on little sister, like I don't know to head that off at the pass for you. I'll call Mel and see if the three of us can have lunch this weekend or something. Ray will be so pissed that she's in London, but I bet Gram would love to come...we'll keep it all low-key. I promise." 

Maddie nodded as she finally sat up. 

"I'm guessing the nurse gave you a few pads, right?" Sophie asked, and Maddie nodded. "Okay, do you wanna stick with those, or do you wanna try tampons?" 

Maddie hurried to shake her head, a look of fear on her face as Sophie nodded. "Okay, no problem. I have a few upstairs, but I'll send dads out for some more for you." Maddie opened her mouth to ask something but Sophie stopped her. "And, I'll tell them, at least at first." 

Maddie sighed with relief as Sophie pushed herself from the bed to stand up. "Go on upstairs to my bathroom and I'll meet you there in a few minutes...but don't think you're getting out of talking to them entirely." 

****** 

"Hey you." 

Kurt jumped slightly as he felt his husband's arms wind around his waist and breath on his neck. He chuckled and turned in his arms. 

"I didn't hear you come in..." Kurt said, as Blaine kissed his nose, chin, finally landing on his lips as they swayed a few times back in forth in the middle of their kitchen. 

"Mmmm, I know," Blaine murmured, as he rubbed his hands up and down his husband's shoulders, pressing their lips together again. 

"Boy, am I glad I decided to marry you..." Blaine trailed off as Kurt pulled away with a laugh and pushed him playfully on the arm. 

"Where did that come from?" 

Blaine shrugged as he pulled Kurt back to him and kissed him feather light on the lips. "Because if I'd married someone else, I'd have to kiss them..." he trailed off and smiled as Kurt laughed against his mouth. "And I'd rather spend my time kissin' you." 

Kurt shook his head in fond exasperation and threaded his fingers through the hair on the back of Blaine's neck. "I'd rather spend my time kissin' you too, you silly man." 

Sophie stomped down the last step of the stairs, causing both men to break their kiss and look over at her. "Child in the room," she announced with a cheeky grin. "Please keep all gross PDA to a bare minimum." 

Blaine smacked Kurt on the ass to make him yelp, just for good measure, before they both turned around to look at her. 

"What's up? I thought you were gonna change then were going over to Arizona's house?" Kurt asked as he checked the oven where he had bread baking to go with their soup for dinner. 

Sophie nodded as she hopped up on one of the stools at the island in their kitchen. "I am, just got a little...held up." 

Blaine looked over at her and put down the knife he was using to chop vegetables for their salad. "Held up with what?" 

Sophie paused for dramatic effect with her eyes closed. "Brace yourself men," she started, opening her eyes to see her Papa rolling his. "Madeline Louise....started her period today." 

Sophie bit her lip so she didn't laugh at her dads' expressions. Kurt's eyes widened and Blaine's jaw dropped. 

"Are you sure?" Blaine asked timidly, and it was Sophie's turn to roll her eyes. 

"I don't think this is something she could mistake for something else." 

Blaine shook himself and nodded as Kurt groaned. "She's only ten! I feel like you were way older!" 

Sophie shrugged and reached over to pop a carrot from the cutting board into her mouth. "I wasn't quite twelve...so not that much older." 

Blaine nodded. "I read an article about it, they say girls are getting theirs younger and younger....especially with the advancement of all natural and organic eating. Their bodies are back to developing at the rate they did before." 

"Of course you read something about it..." Sophie muttered under her breath, and laughed as Blaine threw a dish towel at her. 

Kurt walked over to the sink to wash his hands. "So, she told you and not us...is she okay?" he asked, concerned. "Is she totally freaked out? We haven't talked much about it since she's still so young, and I thought we had more time. I should have known something was up when I didn't hear her practicing this afternoon, I thought she was just tired or something. I should have went upstairs and checked on her." 

Sophie shook her head. "She's embarrassed....but Pops, this is Madeline we are talking about. She doesn't even like people to sing her 'Happy Birthday' because it's too much attention on her without an instrument in front of her to divert focus. I'm pretty sure she'd be embarrassed no matter how old she was." 

Kurt nodded as he looked over at Blaine and they shared a small smile. 

"Oh god," Sophie moaned as she popped one last carrot into her mouth and hopped off the stool. "I know that look. I'm outta here before you both start crying— _look how big our babies are getting!!"_ she mocked as she headed toward the stairs. "Before you both melt into a puddle of parent goo," she started, and they both looked back over at her. "I have enough to get her through the night, but she'll need a box of pads. Tampax has a young teenager line. Just get the thinnest with the most absorbency, and give me about 20 minutes with her before anyone comes upstairs." 

Blaine nodded and huffed out a laugh as she yelled from the stairs. "And grab me a box as well, please!" 

****** 

Maddie sat on the closed toilet lid in her older sister's bathroom and grimaced. "This feels really weird." 

Sophie looked up from where she was sitting on the floor, rummaging through the cabinet under her sink. "I know bean, I'm sorry. All I have is the overnight ones...the pads Dad gets for you should be thinner and you won't notice them as much." 

Maddie nodded and sighed. 

"Okay, if I know our fathers at all..." Sophie trailed off with a smile. "You are gonna get a whole basket of essentials over the next few days, but just in case, everything is in here as well," she said, pulling out a few things and showing them to her sister. "A heating pad, this thing can be a lifesaver. Midol always upset my stomach so I just took Excedrin for cramps and headaches. Always keep an emergency pad with you even when your not on your period. You never know if you'll need it, or if one of your friends will." Maddie nodded again and bit her lip. "Everything's under here when you need it, okay?" 

Maddie nodded one last time before both of them stood up and walked out into Sophie's bedroom. "Thanks Soph." 

"No problem," Sophie promised her before pulling her into a hug and pushing her out the door. "Now beat it, cause I gotta change." 

Maddie chuckled as Sophie shut the door and taking a breath, she picked up her phone from her dresser and pulled up her messaging app to text Mel and Gram about their weekend lunch. 

****** 

Blaine walked out the door with a list for Duane Reade. "And grab some pastries from Corrado," Kurt told him after he'd kissed him goodbye. 

Blaine nodded with a smile and an extra kiss before wrapping a scarf around his neck and walking out into the chilly November evening. 

As soon as the door closed, Kurt heard Maddie's cello start and he smiled. He gave her a few minutes to get really invested in the piece she was playing before he carefully walked up the stairs and into the living room, leaning against the doorframe to watch her play for a while. 

She effortlessly moved from one piece to the next, her eyes closed as she played. He took the time to move from the door to the couch and sat down, Maddie still completely engrossed in her music. 

Several minutes later her bow finally slowed as she finished and pulled the last note as long as she could before sighing and dropping her hands to let the big instrument rest on her chest. 

Kurt started clapping softly and Maddie's head shot up. She'd just noticed he was in the room. 

"That was beautiful, bean." 

Maddie nodded as she stood up and carefully set the large instrument on the stand next to her dad's piano. She whipped around with fear in her eyes. "I don't want a party!" 

Kurt stared at her for a brief moment before cracking a smile and motioning for her to come sit next to him on the couch. "No party, you got it. Sophie mentioned something about lunch with Aunt Mel and Gram this weekend?" 

Maddie nodded again as she sat down and Kurt wrapped his arm around her shoulder, twisting a strand of her long blonde hair around his finger. "I think that will be good. I also need to call your doctor, get you in for a check-up." 

Maddie dropped her head to her hands and groaned. Kurt chuckled as he pulled her into his side and kissed the top of her head. 

The two were quiet for several long moments, Kurt running his hand up and down her arm where he had her cuddled next to him. "I'm sorry we haven't talked about this much, yet..." Kurt said finally, breaking the comfortable silence of the room. "I think your dad and I are in a little bit of denial about our baby growing up. We always think there will be more time." 

Maddie shrugged and cuddled in closer, closing her eyes and sighing. 

Kurt bit his lip and tried to think of the way to phrase what he wanted to say, not wanting to accuse or make Maddie feel like she did something wrong. He took a deep breath and kissed the top of her head again. "And, I'm glad you had your sister to talk to...and even more glad that Sophie treated the situation with the maturity she did...that's not always the case with your older sister, as you well know." 

Maddie giggled and nodded, but stayed close to her Papa. 

"I just want you to know that you can talk to me and dad about anything...anytime," he said carefully, tilting her chin to look her in the eye and grinning. "I know there are some things that are just easier to talk to another girl about, so I want you to always be comfortable talking to Sophie, or Aunt Mel and Aunt Ray, or Gram. I just want you to know we are here. Always." 

Maddie nodded but didn’t look up. "I know, Ba." 

Kurt felt his heart melt at her old nickname for him. All the kids used it when they were little...but Maddie held on to it the longest and still pulled it out occasionally. Kind of the same way the kids still called Blaine "daddy" occasionally. He held his baby daughter impossibly close for few more moments...and let the rest of the world fall away...it would all still be there later. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_July 2038_

_Sophie to [group](Pop, Dad-o, Liam, Baby Sister) Happy Birthday Daddy!!_

_Maddie to [group](Papa, Daddy, Sophie, Liam) We Love You!!_

_Liam to [group] (Papa, Daddd, Soap, Maddie) Hav fun on your trip with Papa :)_

_Maddie to [group](Papa, Daddy, Sophie, Liam) SURPRISE!!_

_Blaine to [group](Baby Daddy, Monster, Jellybelly, Bean) Thanks guys, I love all three of you very, very much <3<3 Papa and I will miss you guys this week, but great job keeping the secret! I was very surprised :) _

_Kurt to [group](My love, Sophia, Liam, Maddie) Be good, all three of you! And remember, even if Lydia is asleep or gone...I still have eyes everywhere!_

_Sophie to [group](Pop, Dad-o, Liam, Baby Sister) Yeah yeah yeah, have fun in Italy. Bring me back something pretty!!_

_Liam to [group] (Papa, Daddd, Soap, Maddie) Sooooo, party in dads room after Lydia gos to slp right sistrs? She wont har from that far away!_

_Liam to [group] (Papa, Daddd, Soap, Maddie) Ooops, sorry dads! Wrong group mssage :P_

_Kurt to [group](My love, Sophia, Liam, Maddie) Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny, Liam._

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mel took a cleansing breath as she and Luke stepped out of the cab in front of Kurt and Blaine's townhouse. Luke, who had been holding the door open for her, put his hand on the small of her back and gently guided her toward the door. 

"I feel like I'm leading you to the slaughter," he joked, the bag with the cheesecake they'd picked up from Junior's swinging slightly in his other hand. "You know they are going to be so happy for us." 

Mel groaned as they walked to the garden door. "You obviously don't know them like I do. I ran off and eloped without telling them, or letting them be there with us."

Luke laughed as he rang the doorbell. "They were in Italy! How could we have invited them?"

Mel shook her head and shrugged. "Besides," she paused as someone started to open the door. "That's not the thing I'm most worried about telling them."

Luke pressed a quick kiss against her temple as the door opened and Liam smiled as he moved aside to let them in. 

"Hey sweetie," Mel said, kissing the top of his head as she walked by and Luke gave him a high five that turned into a complicated handshake gesture, making them both laugh. 

Kurt and Blaine both greeted them with hugs and Blaine took the bag of cheesecake from Luke to put in the fridge until dessert. 

"Where are the girls?" Mel asked, rounding the island to help put the final touches on dinner. 

"Sophie is still in France with her school group, she gets home Sunday," Blaine said as he and Liam finished setting the table. "And Maddie had a lock-in tonight at the conservatory for their last night of camp." 

"It's just the five of us tonight," Kurt called, taking the roasted red potatoes from the oven and dumping them into a serving dish. 

"Well that's good," Mel said happily, pulling Liam into her side and holding on as he pretended to struggle to get away. "A whole night with just my jellybelly to love on!" 

Liam tried not to laugh as he ducked out of her arms and hurried over to the table to sit down.

As Blaine served the gazpacho soup to everyone and Kurt poured out the white wine he'd decanted, Luke spoke up. 

"You know, I can't believe I never asked this...but why 'jellybelly'?" Kurt and Blaine both laughed as Liam put his head down and groaned. "It's nothing like his name or anything..."

Kurt sat down at the head of the table and took a sip of water. "When he was little, Sophie would say he was 'just a baby', and Liam couldn't quite make those words work in his mouth, so he would say 'jellybelly'. Over the years it stuck as his nickname." 

Luke laughed as he reached over and ruffled Liam's light brown hair. "Well, if that isn't just the most precious thing I've ever heard in my life!" 

Liam rolled his eyes and continued eating his soup. 

"So," Mel piped up. "Tell me about Italy! Was it amazing?" 

Kurt and Blaine both beamed and reached over to squeeze their hands together. "It was incredible," Kurt sighed. 

"So amazingly beautiful," Blaine chimed in with a sigh of his own. "And Kurt completely surprised me. I had no idea he had planned an entire week of just us, at this amazing winery...eating the most amazing food and just...being together for a little while."

'We've traveled so little, just the two of us, since before Sophie was born," Kurt cut in with a dreamy smile. "It was time to get some time alone and recharge our relationship batteries."

Liam made gagging noises and Blaine laughed at him. 

"Watch it, young man," he told him, playfully. "It was those relationship batteries that made you!" 

"Yeah, along with test tubes and nine months in my uterus," Mel cut in, elbowing Liam in the side. 

"Oh, I'm gonna lose my dinner," Liam bemoaned, as Kurt told him to chill out. 

Luke looked up from his soup and furrowed his brow. "Wait, since before Sophie was born?" he asked. "You guys haven't traveled together since Sophie was born?" 

Kurt and Blaine both shook their heads. "Not much," Kurt said. 

Blaine sighed. "We've taken plenty of trips as a family...but," he sighed and wiped his mouth on his napkin before continuing. "After Liam was born, things kinda changed...really quickly." 

Kurt nodded. "Blaine won the Tony for _A Boy Like Me—"_

"And Kurt was given the Designer of the Year award right after," Blaine cut in. "And when we flew to Marymount University, in California for him to accept the award, the kids and their nanny, I think it was Grace at the time," he paused to look at Kurt and Kurt nodded. "They were at a restaurant here in New York and were approached by some fans. It got a little crowded and some photographers showed up...Grace ended up having to have the restaurant call the police to get them out of there." 

"Oh wow," Luke said and Mel nodded. She knew all this already, but her and Luke were still relatively new at the time and he wasn't really around for most of this.

"They couldn't sell the pictures," Kurt shook his head. "New York had some pretty strict laws about minors even back then, but they were still all over the internet."

"Along with every single thing we'd ever posted or tweeted about," Blaine added. 

"Before that, we were both relatively unknown beyond the scope of the Broadway family, which is large...but also kind of inclusive. We posted pictures of them, tweeted about them all the time...never giving it a second thought. We started thinking about it a lot after that."

Blaine shook his head after Kurt finished speaking. "We didn't stop any of that altogether...we just became much more aware and much more careful about it. And," he paused and looked over at Liam who was giving him a little half grin. "We also made sure that at least one of us was in the city with them, at all times."

"If we couldn't travel as a family, we worked it out so that one of us was with them." Kurt took a breath and chuckled slightly. "I mean, we did go on little weekend excursions if, say Mel could keep them. Or a few times we dropped the kids off in Ohio with our parents and we went somewhere together...but I'd say nine times out of ten those trips were at least a little work related, so we were way past due for a vacation with just the two of us and nothing else to worry about."

"I'd say so," Luke added, emphatically. He turned to Liam. "I guess you were too young to really remember all that, huh?"

Liam nodded. "Yeah, I was just a baby, but Soph remembers."

"She just remembers the police man who leaned down to talk to her and then carried her from the restaurant and buckled her into the cab," Kurt laughed fondly. "I mean," he added. "Don't get us wrong, it wasn't a mob scene or anything. It's not like Madonna's kids were having lunch that day and it was wall to wall people or something."

"Yeah," Liam added as everyone laughed. "They aren't that famous!" 

Blaine tossed his napkin at his son before looking back at Luke. "It freaked Grace and the kids out, and that was enough for us to make some changes on how we dealt with things." 

"I remember for sure," Mel added. "You guys cut your trip short and I stayed with the kids and Grace until you got home." 

Kurt reached over and squeezed her hand. Mel felt her stomach drop and gave her friend a watery smile. 

Dinner and dessert had been served and Liam had long since grown bored with the adult talk, moving to the family room with his book. Mel took a deep breath and reached under the table for Luke's hand. 

"So," she started, a quiver in her voice that she desperately attempted to mask with a lighthearted air. "Luke and I have some news."

Kurt set down his coffee cup and looked over at his husband before turning back to Mel. "Good news, or bad news?"

Mel broke into a smile. "Very good news," she assured them. They both sat forward as she kept going. "While you two were on your vacation, Luke and I took a little one of our own...to Niagara Falls...where we got married!" 

Kurt and Blaine sat in stunned silence for a few moments before they both shoot up with yelps and congratulations. 

"OH, YOU RAT!" Kurt yelled, as he pulled Mel into his arms. "Why didn’t you tell me?!"

Mel laughed as she let herself be held by Kurt while Blaine and Luke were hugging and Liam came into the dining room as well, grinning. "I swear Kurt, it was a total spur of the moment thing. We decided over breakfast to go and we just...did." 

Kurt laughed as he pulled her into his arms again. 

"We are going to have a party in a few months and I promise," she said emphatically, "I'll let you help plan the whole thing."

"You better!" Kurt laughed as he finally let go so Blaine could hug Mel and he could hug Luke. "But, where are your rings?"

Luke laughed as he high-fived Liam again and turned it into a bear hug as well. "We knew you'd see them a mile away, so we took them both in to get sized today. They are waaaay too big," he laughed again. 

"Smart," Liam nodded after kissing Mel's cheek and letting her hug him. 

"Oh my god," Kurt cried again, getting a little choked up. "This calls for a toast! Honey, do we still have that Prosecco in the wine cooler?" 

Blaine nodded. "Yeah, I think so! I'll grab it, Liam will you grab some glasses for me?"

"Yeah, sure!" Liam called excitedly. If they were toasting, his dads always let him have a little sip in his own glass...it was bad luck not to. And he loved prosecco. 

Kurt and Mel sat down at the table and Mel pulled out her phone to show him the pictures they had taken and Blaine yelled at them to stop, he wanted to see them too. 

"The only white dress I had on such short notice was the one I wore to Sophie's art show last year...and you know how much I don't really like it cause I feel like it makes me look pregnant! But whatever, I'm sure that people thought," she stopped to laugh as she showed Kurt and Blaine and Liam the picture of the two of them in front of the courthouse. "I'm sure people thought I was pregnant but I didn't care, I already had two babies out of wedlock so jokes on them." 

She and Luke laughed at her joke but Blaine shook his head with a smile. "I don't think you did since technically, you were in our," he pointed to Kurt and himself, "Wedlock." 

Mel laughed again and nodded. "Touche." 

"Okay," Kurt called after he had filled all the glasses and handed Liam one with barely more than a swallow poured in it. "To finally tying the knot after almost 13 years! Congratulations guys, we love you both so much!"

"We love you, too," Mel smiled as they clinked their glasses together and everyone took a sip. "Thank you."

Luke leaned down to meet their lips together and Kurt sank into the arm Blaine had wrapped around his waist. Liam smacked his lips and nodded, before setting his glass down in the sink and sitting on a stool at the island, half listening to them, half reading his book again. 

Mel passed her phone to Blaine so he could look through all the pictures as they sat back down and Kurt reached over for Mel's hand again. 

"My only question is, why now?" he asked. 

Mel's smile faltered a bit and she squeezed his hand in hers. "Well, that's the other thing we need to tell you guys." 

Kurt looked at her warily and then glanced at his more than half empty glass of Prosecco. "Why do I feel like I need a refill before you tell me this?"

Mel glanced at Blaine and nodded. "Fill 'em up, chief."

Kurt and Blaine both looked stricken as Mel rushed to assure them. "Don't worry, it's not bad or anything. Like, health-wise we are okay and everything is fine."

Kurt nodded as Blaine refilled their glasses and Mel took a deep breath before looking at Luke, who started first. 

"About a month ago I was put up for a promotion in my advertisement firm, I thought they had passed me over...but I got a call last week and I didn't get that job, because they wanted me for something even bigger!"

Blaine broke into a big grin."That's great, Luke. We're really excited for you."

"He deserves it," Mel broke in. "He's been with the company for years and has pulled in a lot of clients for them, and kept them."

Kurt looked from friend to friend. "So, is that why I needed a full glass? Another toast?"

Mel took another deep breath and shook her head. "The job's in London."

The room was quiet for a few moments before Blaine sighed and nodded. "Oh, Mel...you're going with him."

It wasn't a question, but Mel still nodded. "When he told me about it, I just...I knew it was the right thing to do." 

Kurt bit his lip. "For how long?"

Mel glanced over at Liam, who had set down his book and was staring at the four of them from across the room. She turned back to Kurt. "We're moving there."

Blaine nodded with a sad smile, motioning for Liam to come sit next to him and making room on the bench he was sitting on. Liam sat down and gave his Aunt Mel a smile that mimicked his dad's, soft...but sad. 

"I can't..." Kurt shook his head and willed himself not to cry. "It's Sophie's senior year, I thought we had a whole other year before we had to deal with empty nest syndrome." 

Mel tried to laugh, but didn't quite make it as she reached over for Kurt's hand. "I know this is a little shocking," she said, and Kurt nodded. "But please tell me you're happy for me. You guys mean so much to me, and I really want you to be happy with me about this."

Kurt sat forward and squeezed her hand. "Mel, of course we are happy!" he rushed to assure her, mustering up a smile. "We love you, we are just really, really going to miss you."

"I know, I'm going to miss you guys too," She sat forward on her chair a little too but didn't let go of Kurt's hand. "But you know most of my work is here in the city, so I'll be back a ton! And you guys love London, you can come visit us and we'll still talk and text and everything, just like we always have." 

"You bet your sweet ass we will," Blaine cut in as Luke finally broke his silence with a barking laugh. 

Mel nodded and looked back at Liam. "How 'bout you, kiddo?" 

Liam shrugged and nodded. "I mean...you're just moving, right? You're not saying goodbye or anything?"

Mel sobbed out a watery laugh and wiped her eyes. "I'm just moving, not saying goodbye."

Liam nodded. "Okay..." He trailed off and shrugged. "I like London."

Mel laughed again before motioning for him to come over to her. Liam stood up and walked around the table as Mel met him with a hug. "No matter where I am," she promised. "I'll always be there for you and your sisters, okay?"

Liam nodded and sniffed quietly, letting her hold him much longer than he usually would.

"Always," she reiterated as Liam pulled away, saying he was headed off to bed.

He did another complicated handshake/high five motion with Luke and kissed both of his dads goodnight. 

"I'll be up before we go to bed," Blaine said as he gave Liam an extra squeeze on the arm and waved him up the stairs, before turning back to the table. 

"Little Kurt's gotta go deal with his emotions on his own for a little while," Blaine said, as both Mel and Luke nodded with quiet chuckles. 

Kurt narrowed his eyes. "I'd give you a dirty look," he started. "But it's hard to argue with the truth." 

Blaine laughed and reached over to clasp their hands together. Kurt took a few long pulls on his water before sighing and looking back at Mel. Luke had his arm around her as she wiped her eyes and nodded, agreeing to whatever he was quietly telling her.

"When are you leaving?" Kurt asked, after she had turned back to look at him.

"Luke is leaving in a few weeks," she told them. "He's gotta get there for work, but I'm staying for a few months. Find someone to sublet our apartment, get some work things organized," she paused and grinned. "Plan a party with you." 

Blaine blurted out a laugh and nodded as Kurt told her that she had better believe it. 

"We are planning a rager!" he called as the four of them laughed. 

"I'd expect nothing less," Luke told him with a wink. 

The room got quiet again as Kurt looked around and squeezed Blaine's hand in his own. He smiled at his husband as he felt a knot growing in his throat and looked over at Mel. 

"Everything..." he paused to gain some control, finally realizing it was a losing battle and sighed out a tiny sob. "Everything good that's happened to us over the past eighteen years, is because you said 'yes' to us that night."

Mel closed her eyes tightly as two fat tears dropped down her face.

"We owe so much to you...I don't think we could ever thank you enough," Blaine said softly.

Mel tried to talk, but had to give up. She stood from her chair and both Kurt and Blaine enveloped her between them.

The three of them stood like that for a long time while Luke sat at the table...part of the group of them, but also separate. He snapped a pic as they laughed and pulled out of the hug. 

"Best thing that ever happened to me was catching you two basically dry humping in the elevator that night!"

Blaine laughed as Kurt groaned, and Luke's head shot up with a grin. 

"Wait, what?" he cried. "How have I never heard that story before?"

Mel wiped her eyes and pointed to her empty glass. "Oh fill me up, buddy!" she said to Blaine as she sat back down at the table. "And let me tell you the story of how Mel met Kurt and Blaine, circa 2018!" 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_January 2039_

_Sophie to [group](Pop, Dad-o, Little Brother, Baby Sister) This will be your one and only warning, fathers. Say anything embarrassing about me tonight and the wrath of Sophia Elizabeth will be MASSIVE._

_Sophie to [group](Pop, Dad-o, Little Brother, Baby Sister) I'm serious. One whiff of that time I rubbed baby oil all over me and slid down the hallway of our loft...WHEN I WAS 2! And I'm moving to Australia and never speaking to either of you again._

_Blaine to [group](Baby Daddy, Monster, Jellybelly, Bean) Aww, but that's my favorite Sophie story! You were so cute <3<3 _

_Sophie to [group](Pop, Dad-o, Little Brother, Baby Sister) G'day Mate!_

Kurt was just finishing tying the bowtie Blaine was wearing as a harried woman with a headset rushed up to them. 

"Two minutes, guys," she whispered. "John will introduce you and that's your cue." 

Kurt barely contained himself from rolling his eyes but mustered up a smile and nodded. "Got it, we'll be ready." 

Blaine twinkled his eyes at his husband and winked as the woman walked away. "Imagine, someone introducing you as your cue?" 

Kurt swatted him gently on the arm. "Shush, you. You'll put me in a sarcastic mood and I promised our daughter I would not embarrass her." 

Blaine reached over to adjust Kurt's perfectly straight collar and leaned in to press a gentle kiss on his cheek. "'Fraid the jig may be up on embarrassing her...just walking out will be enough to make Sophie wish we were the hermits she insists we actually are." 

Kurt shrugged with a smile and turned to face the lit stage they were about to walk out on. The audience was still milling around, filling the theater with the static noise of a group of people talking amongst themselves as everyone found their seats and the recording crew finished their last minute set-ups. 

Blaine sidled up next to him, taking his hand and giving it a quick squeeze. "Thank you for doing this with me," he whispered as John, their interviewer for the evening, walked out on the stage to thunderous applause. 

Kurt turned slightly to smile at his husband and shrug. "Of course, anything for the Broadway community...and you." 

Blaine scrunched up his face in a joyous smile and pouted his lips for a small kiss. He took Kurt's hand and squeezed tightly as the applause rang again and they walked out onto the stage, hand-in-hand. 

The interview was pretty standard, as far as interviews go. Questions about how they met, what it was like growing up in small town Ohio, knowing you had found the man you were going to love your entire life...they'd been doing interviews like this for years and had their stock answers for every single one, each one re-worded just so to sound new and entertaining for each audience. 

Questions about Kurt's new line and the magazine that was viewed all over the world as an online publication, Blaine's new show...would they ever do a collab? Would/did they ever consider following similar paths in life? 

Any journalist/interviewer worth their salt knew how to ask a question, but Kurt and Blaine were just as professional as they were...and they knew what to say to make just enough of an impression, without getting too personal and inviting people into their living room on a daily basis. 

They'd learned over the years, what to say and what to keep to themselves. What to share and what was just theirs. It was a balancing act, but one they were very familiar with...and thrived at, if truth be told.

"So before we wrap up," the interviewer, John, asked thirty or so minutes into the interview. "I wanna ask a few just...I don't wanna say rapid fire because I don't want you to feel like you can't expand on them...but a few questions that are maybe a little silly, but still fun." 

Both men nodded. "Go for it," Kurt said with a cheeky smile. 

"So, first question, you both married so young, is there anything that...when you first met or first got married was just the cutest thing ever...but now it's like," John paused and shook his fists comically. "Like, ahhh, nails on a chalkboard? 

"I have mine," Kurt said immediately. 

Blaine laughed. "Have you been saving up for this one? I feel like I may need to brace myself." 

The crowd laughed along with Kurt as he shook his head and shrugged. "No, just...I have mine." 

"Alright, but I'm thinking up a good one to get you back." 

"Okay, Kurt...what's the thing that when you met Blaine was the cutest thing ever, but now drives you crazy?" 

"His politeness." 

"What!?" Blaine laughed. 

Kurt nodded. "When we met it was so sweet and cute, and I loved how dapper and chivalrous you were...but now, when you hold the door open for ten people to walk through when we are late. Or you are listening to the barista tell you their life story and I just want my latte..." Kurt smiled as he trailed off and set his hand on Blaine's thigh. 

Blaine winked at him. 

"Okay, so Blaine? Do you have one as well?" 

"His obsession with skin care." 

The crowd and John all broke out in surprised laughter and Kurt jumped back, incredulous. 

"What?" 

"Yeah," Blaine answered with a smile and twinkled his eyes at the audience. "When we first were together, we would bond all the time over new products or what this serum did verses this cream...but now when I just wanna rub my eye or temple without a ten minute lecture about the oil on my fingers and wrinkles..." Blaine trailed off to laughter again and Kurt shook his head.

"Hey, you'll be glad of my concern when we are old and have the best skin in the Broadway nursing home." 

"Yes I will, dear." 

John laughed once more before clearing his throat. "Okay, scariest moment as parents?" 

Kurt paused for a moment before making brief eye contact with Blaine and nodding. They also had a select few stories that they pulled out every now and then. "When our oldest was about 11, our whole house was plagued with this awful flu. We had it, the kids got it, even our nanny at the time was down with it." 

Blaine nodded along and widened his eyes at the audience as Kurt talked. 

"So one morning, towards the end of the sick house, our oldest Sophie woke up with a temperature and was complaining of her stomach hurting. We both thought 'oh, she just has the flu,' no big deal, put her back to bed and monitor the fever until it breaks." 

"The end of the day comes and she's still feeling miserable, and just as we are talking about getting her in to see her doctor in the morning, she passes out. So we rush her to the hospital and what we thought was the flu, was actually appendicitis." 

A collective groan from John and the audience as John says into his microphone, "Oh my god."

"Yeah, it was horrible," Blaine told him. "So I would say that was definitely the scariest moment. 

"Okay," John said as the crowd calmed down again. "How about funniest, or craziest?" 

Kurt started laughing and Blaine poked him. "What?" he asked. 

"No," Kurt waved his hand and crossed his legs again to resituate. "I don't know if this is the craziest, but I was just thinking....when our son turned 8 we asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday, and he told us he wanted to go on the big double buses. 

Blaine started laughing too and threw his head back. "Oh, that's right! And we had just taken the kids to Europe the summer before so we thought he meant like, the double decker buses in London...no. He meant he wanted to ride the double tour buses that New York tourists take!" 

"And he grew up here?" John asked, as he and the crowd chuckled again. 

"Yeah, he's never lived anywhere else, but he saw them all the time and he wanted to ride one of the big buses. So that's what we did. We took him and a group of his friends on the Brooklyn tour bus on Saturday afternoon with all the tourists." 

"But you know, I actually did learn a few things as well, because I never went on one when I moved here...so it actually was a lot of fun. It was just so funny that that's what he wanted to do for his birthday."

"Alright, last question," John said, as the crowd groaned and both Kurt and Blaine chuckled. "If you could go back to your younger selves, or just to young people in general," John corrected himself. "If you could give them some advice, what would it be?"

"About, life, careers?" Kurt asked. 

John shrugged. "All of the above? Love?"

Blaine and Kurt both nodded as they looked at each other; Kurt was the one to speak up first.

"Well, as far as life...never take the first answer you are given. Always ask why, how, when. Don't be afraid to fight for yourself."

Blaine kept his rested hand on Kurt's thigh. "And on the flip side of that, give yourself a break once in a while. Know that 'No.' is a complete sentence and your feelings, no matter how small or insignificant they may feel, are valid."

"Career?" John asked. 

"Work hard," Blaine shrugged. "Know that sometimes you may fail, but that's okay. One of my favorite quotes is something Julie Andrews said: "Progress is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth'."

Kurt smiled. "And know that it's okay not to know. To be confused and start over, no matter how old you are or how much training or education you have. You can reinvent yourself twenty times if you need to. It's your life, you are the one who needs to live it."

John grinned as he sighed. "And love?"

Blaine flipped his palm over and Kurt immediately took it into his own. "We tell our kids all the time that you are a person who has worth and value, never let your own light dim to make someone else's shine. Love is about both of you finding joy and happiness, wanting it for your partner just as much as you want it for yourself."

John nodded and looked at Kurt. 

"Falling in love is not the end of your story. You have so much more life to live and sometimes it’s a long, hard road to travel. But if you find someone who wants to work as hard as you do, and is willing to love you the way you need to be loved...it's all worth it." 

John smiled and shook his head as he caught a glance at Blaine squeezing Kurt's hand in his own. "Well that sounds as perfect way as any to close out. Thank you both so much, for coming and talking with us."

"Anytime," Kurt nodded as Blaine smiled and added, "Thank you for having us."

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Sophie to [group] (Pop, Dad-o, Little Brother, Baby Sister) when you two are finished embarrassing your children, come meet us for dinner._

_Maddie to [group] (Papa, Dad, Sophie, Liam) we decided on pizza, just a few blocks from you!_

_Liam to [group] (Papa, Daddd, Soap, Maddie) at John's. We already ordered your margherita pizza._

_Blaine to [group] (My Love <3, monster, jellybelly, bean) Just finished, on our way<3_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Epilogue up later tonight and masterpost on tumblr later this week!!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole lot can change in just one year…a new house, a new school, a new baby?? Just think of what can change in almost 10 years!?! One thing is for sure–Kurt, Blaine, and their children will never take this walk through life alone. They will always have each other, and the family they surround themselves with.
> 
> _Walk on, walk on…with hope in your heart…and you’ll never walk alone. You’ll never walk alone.-Carousel_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just looked it up, and I posted the very first chapter of this verse a year and a half ago...almost to the date. But really, I’ve been writing this story even longer. The first few drafts still had Finn as a major character, Liam was a twin, and Maddie didn't exist at all! And even though the show took our boys somewhere different, I still love this version of them, because it’s the version I saw in my head and was actually able to put into words. Then, had enough guts to put those words on the internet. 
> 
> I have been given back ten-fold what I put into this. Thank you so much, again, from the bottom of my heart for taking this journey with me. And who knows...maybe this isn’t goodbye just quite yet ;)

Sophie sighed as she and Kurt finished setting the table for dinner. “You are such a hypocrite, Papa!” she smiled. “I know you have at least two, and Dad has hinted at your third. Though I absolutely don't want to know where it is, if I’ve never seen it.” 

Kurt snorted out a laugh as he set the plate of pesto grilled chicken on the table. “It’s all of your initials, including Dad’s, right below my hip. Nothing that scandalous.”

Sophie rolled her eyes as she walked back to the kitchen to grab a bottle of tea and fill a glass with ice from the dispenser in the door of the fridge. “Still,” she countered, walking back to the table as Liam came bounding through the garden door, dropping his bag, shoes, and jacket on the floor in his wake. “It really isn't that big of a deal, Papa.”

“What’s not a big deal?” Liam asked, walking into the dining room. 

Kurt checked the pot of pasta and vegetables on the stove to make sure it had simmered long enough. He turned the range off and used two pot holders to carry the still hot pot to the table. 

“Li, go wash up for dinner, then grab the basket of garlic bread on the island,” Kurt instructed his son, setting the pot on the table and thanking Sophie for moving the table protector for him. 

“Soph,” he started, perching on the chair at the head of their table and smiling at his eldest daughter. “It’s not that I don’t approve, or think you are making a mistake. It’s just a huge commitment.” 

Sophie rolled her eyes, but nodded. “Pop, I know that. It’s something I’ve been thinking of for a long time.”

Kurt sighed, crossed his legs and smiled as Liam came to the table and set the basket of garlic bread down. “Look, honey,” he started. “Your Dad and I have always taught you and your brother and sister, to own your own creativity. To be yourselves, no matter what anyone else says.”

Liam and Sophie both nodded. 

“I would never tell you what to do, or not do, with your own body,” he told them. “As your dad, I’m always gonna have an opinion, but that’s all it is, an opinion. In the end, it will always be your decision and yours alone. You’re eighteen. You don’t need my permission on this kind of thing anymore.” 

Sophie nodded again, a grin spreading across her face as she took a sip of her iced tea.

“However, if I may offer a suggestion?” Kurt asked, standing up and Sophie nodded. “If you wait, two months. Really think about it for two more months, and you decide you still want to get one? Then not only will I take you to get the exact tattoo you want, I’ll even pay for it and get one myself.” 

Sophie’s face lit up."Really?” 

Kurt nodded his head as he scanned the table to make sure everything was set for dinner. “Really,” he assured her. “I’ve been thinking about getting a fourth one for a while now.” 

“You want to get a tattoo?” Liam snickered as he sat down at the table across from his older sister. “Of what? Your boyfriend?” 

Sophie gave Liam a dirty look. She was just about to snap something back at him when Kurt yelled up the stairs for Maddie. 

Both of them looked over at Kurt curiously as Maddie walked up behind him from where she was standing in the kitchen. 

“Ummm, Ba?” she said. “I’m right here.” 

Kurt whipped around at the noise and had to laugh. He pulled Maddy against his side and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “Sorry baby, I didn't hear you come down.” 

Sophie and Liam giggled as Maddie walked over to sit next to Sophie. Sophie poured the rest of the tea from her bottle into the glass of ice her little sister had brought over with her. 

“Is your dad also standing right behind me?” Kurt asked, looking around as he carried his and Blaine’s glasses of wine to the table. “Or do I need to yell for him as well?” 

“I’m right here,” Blaine called, walking over from the stairs with a big white envelope in his hand. He gave his husband a quick peck on the cheek in hello before turning back to the table. “Soph, this came for you.”

Sophie looked up from where she was spooning pasta onto her’s and Maddie’s plates. She put the spoon down and wiped her hand on a napkin. 

“Oh god,” she whispered, standing up and reaching over for the envelope in her dad’s hand. 

“What?” Liam asked, motioning for the plate of chicken. 

“It’s...it’s from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.” Sophie told him, her hand shaking as she turned the envelope over and over in her hand. 

Maddie looked over as her eyes grew wide. Blaine sidled up to his husband and wrapped his hand around Kurt’s waist. 

“Well,” Liam started, looking over at his sister. “Are you gonna open it?” 

“Liam.” Kurt scolded quietly, setting his hands on his son’s shoulders. He looked over as Sophie met his gaze. He smiled reassuringly at her and nodded his head. 

“We’re here, honey,” he told her, Blaine nodding beside him. “No matter what it says, we’re here and we’re so proud of you.”

Sophie nodded as she took a deep breath.

It took a few tries, her hands were shaking so much, but she finally got the envelope open and the paper unfolded. 

Blaine held his breath as he squeezed Kurt’s hip. 

“Dear Miss Anderson-Hummel,” Sophie read, her voice shaking as she started to laugh. “Congratulations...” 

The rest of her words were drown by Blaine’s yells, with Liam and Maddie joining in. Kurt covered his face with his hands as he hurried over to pull his daughter into his arms, Blaine wrapping his arms around the two of them as Liam and Maddy laughed and cheered next to them.

“Of course they were going to take you!” Kurt cried, as he let go and Maddie jumped on her big sister. “They would be complete idiots not to!” 

Blaine grinned as he reached over and pulled Kurt into his arms. Kurt buried his face into Blaine’s neck, squeezing his eyes shut to prevent him from crying. 

“Chicago,” he whispered, only loud enough for Blaine to hear. 

“One of the top two art schools in the country,” Blaine reminded him gently, squeezing tightly as the kids chatted excitedly. 

Kurt sniffed and nodded his head, pulling out of the hug to gently set his forehead against Blaine’s for a brief moment. 

“Can I go call Arizona? We promised we would call when we got our acceptance letters,” Sophie asked, standing up. 

Kurt pulled away from Blaine to nod at Sophie. “Sure honey, come eat when you’re done.” 

Sophie nodded, hurrying over to the stairs. She had only gotten up a few before rushing back and throwing her arms around both her dads' necks. “Love you, guys.”

Kurt squeezed his eyes shut again and kissed her temple. 

“We love you too, monster. So, so much,” Blaine whispered. 

Sophie grinned at the old nickname, and turned toward the stairs again. 

Once she was safely upstairs and out of earshot, Kurt turned to the younger two and sat down.“Could one of you please stay in New York for college?” he asked, wiping his eyes and taking a sip of wine. “My poor heart can’t take any more of my babies flying the nest.” 

Liam shrugged as he took a bite of chicken. 

“I’m going to Austria,” Maddie announced. 

Kurt groaned as he set his head in his hand and Blaine laughed while squeezing his neck, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading! Masterpost on my tumblr later this week!


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